Fare Decrease and the New Ezlink Card

So the bus and train operators are going to cut their fares by two cents starting from April. Whoop-dee-hoo. Public transport fares are supposed to be link to fuel prices, according to SMRT and SBS. And oil prices are lower today than two years ago. But since 2007, the fare has gone up two times - by 2 cents, then by 4 cents. Now the 2 cent decrease means the fare would have gone up by 4 cents compared to 2007. Do these people think that we don't notice the previous price increases but only think, "Wow!! This is so generous of them!!"?? Thanks a bunch for trying to make public transport more economical, public transport operators.

Now on to a non-joy!-related topic. I haven't changed my ez-link card to the new one yet. It's not just because I am lazy to queue up (although the line at Bedok Interchange was long enough today to put me off), I can't abide the new rule requiring you to have a minimum amount in your card before you can ride the bus or train. What was wrong with the old rule? I mean, the most you can get on your card is $-1.00 before it will stop working, but there is a $5 deposit on the card. Do you think people whose card goes into the negative will suddenly think, "Oh. It's time to ditch this card. Let's go buy another one with a $5 deposit!" instead of paying off the negative. I guess they do need to revamp the card so it can be used for other things as well. But I really think it is a stupid rule.