Competition in Singapore

Like most Singaporeans, I'm generally apathetic to Singaporean politics. In the past I used to be quite vocal against the PAP, but after living and studying in the US and in Europe, I realize that Singapore really isn't that bad: it combines the belief in free markets (like in the US) with a social safety net (of sorts) like in Europe (most importantly in insurance and healthcare).

I've come to terms with the fact that Singapore probably will not change politically. And honestly, as long as the PAP remains incorrupt, and as long as the government continues to govern well, and as long as the government does not interfere with my lifestyle, I have no qualms with living and working under the PAP regime.

That being said, I still feel that certain decisions should be made with greater transparency. Even though historically Singapore has been ranked no.2 on the Index of Economic Freedom rankings, I think there is still room for increased market freedom and competition in certain areas.

For instance, Singapore's public transport is regulated by the Public Transport Council, and they regulate the two main transportation companies in Singapore: SMRT and SBS Transit. A few years ago, I remember that there used to be plenty of private bus companies that would run their private bus lines: often these bus lines would overlap with the existing bus routes run by SMRT and SBS. This practice has since stopped, with the result that SMRT and SBS practically have a monopoly over their existing bus routes.

If you ask me, this route monopoly has resulted in an increased herd-like behaviour of buses. One is left waiting at a bus stop like a German U-boat commander in the Atlantic, waiting patiently only to suddenly have two, or sometimes even three (!) buses of the same route turn up. My feeling is that if the existing duopoly is broken, with individual bus companies allowed to compete along the same bus route, commuters will benefit from improved service due to the enhanced competition. We probably just need a single additional market participant for the market dynamic to change, much like the Singapore telecom market situation, where we have two giants (Starhub and Singtel) and a runt (M1) that keeps both giants on their toes.