A train of thoughts...

Sorry that I have not been blogging as consistent. Caught up in wave of skool work and other commitments as usual. Just finished Managing Accounting test today which I'm probably getting crappy grades for. Stunner paper, hope I still can pass. Hahaha. Made a couple of careless mistake and that's it. No second chance, no sympathy marks. Managing Accounting is one mean b***h of a subject. And yes dear friends I'm sorry I do not have the time to send Chinese New Year Cards these time. Sigh. At least you guys can't mock at my chinese. Heh.

Recently when I was at the mrt station, I caught sight of a poster encouraging people to join the SMRT cram jam. To set a new record for the number of people that can squeeze into an smrt train. This was followd by verbal announcements through the station's PA system closer to the date of the acivity. It was held last Sunday I guess? And 500 odd people managed to squeeze into a train at the Bishan Depot. My main thought was: What on earth for?

To take part in the SMRT cram jam, simply attempt to board the train daily at peak period. You might have to push your way through as sometimes a simple 'excuse me' is never enough for some jokers to move in to the centre. I do not see the need for a yearly increase in fares of public transport with the service they are providing. The fact that it is called 'public transport' should be one where the goverment takes a heavy subsidy in in order to keep fares affordable. SMRT is probably one of the few public transport in the world raking in annual profits. I really do not see where the hike goes when trains at peak period arrive at 3 to 4 mins interval. Weren't they suppose to arrive in 2 mins interval as promised?

Off peak is no better. Trains remained crammed as they come in intervals of 7 to 10 mins. Sheesh. If we were to pay more in terms of fares I really hope to see a variable increase in train efficiency as well. We claim to be a world class state with world class transportation network. Then why compare ourselves with other countries? Must we really cram ourselves on train just like the Japanese do? I really hope one day Singapore can set herself apart from other countries in terms of transportation.

Unfortunately what we are lacking in technical terms, Singapore also lack in terms of courtesy. Morons continue to push their way in before people alight, others lean on handrails and poles meant for HANDS, and some others are clearly 'blind' when others need a seat more than they do. It is really unfortunate we live in such a inconsiderate society. I was on the way home from school last Thursday and I managed to get a seat at Dover mrt. 2 stations later a pregnant woman holding a toddler and still carrying a bag of groceries walked in. I was the only one who gave her a seat. She was so concerned about her child's safety that she insisted that the kid took the seat while she remained standing. I was utterly disgusted at how blind some Sigaporeans could be.

*Click to enlarge*

This sums up the great 'efficiency' of our MRT. Get more of it here.

Perhaps the underlying purpose of the recent SMRT cram jam is to find out truly how many Singaporeans can squeeze into a train if they really tried. Hmmm.

Will this mean 7 mins train intervals at peak periods soon?