Comments on: Pre-schoolers and public transport just don’t mix http://blogs.blogtv.sg/starbloggers/2009/11/03/pre-schoolers-and-public-transport-just-dont-mix/ Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:42:07 +0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Wishful Uncle http://blogs.blogtv.sg/starbloggers/2009/11/03/pre-schoolers-and-public-transport-just-dont-mix/comment-page-1/#comment-179 Wishful Uncle Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:59:19 +0000 http://blogs.blogtv.sg/starbloggers/?p=281#comment-179 What Hazifah wrote is the story of our lives. It is lucky that she can afford a car. Thousands others cannot. A friend of mine takes bus-train-bus on her way to work and vice versa going home. All this, while standing with a handbag, document bag and laptop. So, it is queue-queue-queue and stand-stand-stand on the way to and from work. There are hundreds of thousands like her each day in Singapore. Tokyo or Hong Kong may be worse. Why compare ourselves to them? Why not emulate some other more beautiful and gracious societies? Aim for a seat for everyone. Give respect to the commuters (they are our precious citizens, not sardines). What a beautiful country Singapore will then be. How happy will its citizens be! I pray our transport administrators see this point of view. Narrow fixation on only the transport company's dollar profitablity is shallow thinking. The bottom line is our overall national happiness and wellness. But this is not incompatible with our overall national dollar figures in the long run. Below is my view. Other than the obvious wasting time and national productivity, our bad public transport system damages our overall national wellness in the following ways: 1. It creates high blood pressure (which I suffer from.) This adds to our public heath cost. 2. The pressure of travel makes us irritable and short tempered (even if we do not realise it outwardly). This creates social problems like divorce, family stress, rudeness, selfishness, and many other social ills. There is a national cost to this. 3. Stressful public transport is one reason (among others) leading to citizens immigrating. How many times have we heard that cars (i.e. transport) are so affordable in other countries? This is national brain drain. 4. How often have we said we have not enough time for family, friends, games, exercise, social work etc. If we spend less time on travel, more time can be spent usefully. I am not saying all the above are caused just by bad public transport alone. But I am 100% sure bad public transport adds to it. Singapore can be a very gracious, gentle, beautiful, healthy, productive and enjoyable home. A good public transport system is the ultimate foundation. Think about it. Wishful What Hazifah wrote is the story of our lives. It is lucky that she can afford a car. Thousands others cannot.

A friend of mine takes bus-train-bus on her way to work and vice versa going home. All this, while standing with a handbag, document bag and laptop. So, it is queue-queue-queue and stand-stand-stand on the way to and from work. There are hundreds of thousands like her each day in Singapore.

Tokyo or Hong Kong may be worse. Why compare ourselves to them? Why not emulate some other more beautiful and gracious societies? Aim for a seat for everyone. Give respect to the commuters (they are our precious citizens, not sardines). What a beautiful country Singapore will then be. How happy will its citizens be! I pray our transport administrators see this point of view.

Narrow fixation on only the transport company’s dollar profitablity is shallow thinking. The bottom line is our overall national happiness and wellness. But this is not incompatible with our overall national dollar figures in the long run. Below is my view.

Other than the obvious wasting time and national productivity, our bad public transport system damages our overall national wellness in the following ways:
1. It creates high blood pressure (which I suffer from.) This adds to our public heath cost.
2. The pressure of travel makes us irritable and short tempered (even if we do not realise it outwardly). This creates social problems like divorce, family stress, rudeness, selfishness, and many other social ills. There is a national cost to this.
3. Stressful public transport is one reason (among others) leading to citizens immigrating. How many times have we heard that cars (i.e. transport) are so affordable in other countries? This is national brain drain.
4. How often have we said we have not enough time for family, friends, games, exercise, social work etc. If we spend less time on travel, more time can be spent usefully.

I am not saying all the above are caused just by bad public transport alone. But I am 100% sure bad public transport adds to it.

Singapore can be a very gracious, gentle, beautiful, healthy, productive and enjoyable home. A good public transport system is the ultimate foundation. Think about it.

Wishful

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