Smrt Unhappiness Analysis
I believe that the widespread unhappiness over the public transport was due to operational issues that were further worsened by public relations lapses.
I’ll be sharing some rumours that I heard which may make sense of why there have been track faults. I apologize if it may not be true but my purpose is to share my knowledge of the situation.
It was said that there were many changes after Ex-CEO Saw Phaik Hwa took over. She focused on the financial potential of SMRT and that was why there were many shops introduced at MRT stations for a period of time. However, it was also rumoured that SMRT decided to buy cheaper alternatives for numerous train line equipments that may prove to be detrimental in the long run to cut costs. This prompted the resignation of many senior SMRT staff and, potentially, the reason for the numerous train faults that we have been seeing for the past few months. These are rumours that I have heard and once again I apologize if it is not true.
Nevertheless, another operational failure I saw was SMRT’s crisis management during the December train crisis. Many people in the train were left there for long periods of time without any knowledge or instruction of what to do next. The drivers of the MRTs that were stranded there only let them out after hours without much ventilation or air-condition. The staff members at various MRT stations seemed clueless too. They closed various MRT stations from the public and even told members of the public that they do not know what is happening.
Apparently, the instruction given to them was to direct the public to the bus services but they were not able to answer the queries by the public on the spot. The queues for the bus were tremendously long and rowdy that the SMRT staff could not contain the situation properly. Riot police were even called in and put on standby to alleviate the situation.
In my opinion, it showed the failure of SMRT as an organisation to effectively tell its staff what to do
I’ll be sharing some rumours that I heard which may make sense of why there have been track faults. I apologize if it may not be true but my purpose is to share my knowledge of the situation.
It was said that there were many changes after Ex-CEO Saw Phaik Hwa took over. She focused on the financial potential of SMRT and that was why there were many shops introduced at MRT stations for a period of time. However, it was also rumoured that SMRT decided to buy cheaper alternatives for numerous train line equipments that may prove to be detrimental in the long run to cut costs. This prompted the resignation of many senior SMRT staff and, potentially, the reason for the numerous train faults that we have been seeing for the past few months. These are rumours that I have heard and once again I apologize if it is not true.
Nevertheless, another operational failure I saw was SMRT’s crisis management during the December train crisis. Many people in the train were left there for long periods of time without any knowledge or instruction of what to do next. The drivers of the MRTs that were stranded there only let them out after hours without much ventilation or air-condition. The staff members at various MRT stations seemed clueless too. They closed various MRT stations from the public and even told members of the public that they do not know what is happening.
Apparently, the instruction given to them was to direct the public to the bus services but they were not able to answer the queries by the public on the spot. The queues for the bus were tremendously long and rowdy that the SMRT staff could not contain the situation properly. Riot police were even called in and put on standby to alleviate the situation.
In my opinion, it showed the failure of SMRT as an organisation to effectively tell its staff what to do