It was such an honour to be recommended by NTUC and nominated by the Ministry of Transport to sit in the Public Transport Council with effect from August 2005 for two-term. The Public Transport Council (PTC) was established in 1987 as an independent body to approve and regulate bus services and public transport fares. It is entrusted with the challenging mission of balancing commuters' interest with the long-term viability of the public transport operators.
Since road link was established for Jurong Island, I have always been passionate on issues pertaining to the level of bus service for our members. Within the OPEC Cluster representing the Oil, Petrochemical, Energy and Chemical Clusters Union, it has been a challenging task to raise the standards of bus service for employees working in Jurong Island. Eventually since last year, Management finally provided bus service for employees working at the Petrochemical Complex and looking at Jurong Island Bus Service itself, it is still not reliable especially during the off-peak period.
Now that I am a Council Member, it is not just focusing on the transport issues in Jurong Island but the whole of Singapore and basically it is to assure quality bus services and most importantly to maintain affordable bus and train fares for the public. I am glad that I can contribute in my personal capacity as a unionist and a bus commuter with a ground perspective to the PTC. Having said that, this is also a learning experience for me to understand the role played by PTC Council Members and I am most grateful to be given such an opportunity :P
