Sound Smarter in Sixty Seconds (SSISS) is Mothership’s daily brief on the important headlines of the day. We will also contribute our views on the issues at hand.

Budget Debate on Transport

Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said that the Government will nearly double the number of public buses by adding 450 buses to the  current 550 under the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP).

An annual public transport survey of 4,200 commuters showed that customer satisfaction of MRT services was at its lowest (88.9%) since the first survey in 2006. Satisfaction with buses rose from 86.4% to 88.3% last year.

Transport continued to be a hot button issue in parliament, with MPs posing 41 cuts to the Ministry. In contrast, the government appeared to have managed the housing concerns well. The Ministry of National Development had seen its cuts reduced from 40 to 27 this year.  From the annual survey commissioned by LTA, we observed that the commuters' satisfaction with train services started its decline from 2009. We hope that the train operators would heed Transport Minister Lui's call to tackle disruptions during the peak hours. 

Government wants to keep hawker food affordable

Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu said that the Government can shape the costs hawkers face through sensible policies. Sub-letting and assignment of stalls has been disallowed. To keep rental pressures down, 10 new hawker centres will be built over the next few years.

In trying to revive the hawker culture, it is good to know that the Government is looking to keep rental down. NEA should continue to make it easier for Singaporeans who choose to become hawkers to have a sustainable business. 

Meanwhile, we read a good summary of yesterday's budget by PM Lee Hsien Loong on his Facebook.

Source: Lee Hsien Loong Facebook 

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