Our Buses

[One tourist complain, and two letters with suggestions! Helpful!]

Oct 29, 2010

Make bus rides friendlier

MRS HYUNHEE Kim's suggestion to equip buses with route maps and a system to announce the name of the next bus stop is indeed useful ('Lost after taking the bus'; Tuesday).

Only last week, my nephew was in a similar situation. He studies at the Nanyang Technological University and came to visit me. I gave him detailed instructions to alight at the bus stop near Block 610 Clementi West.

But he missed it and had to alight at the next bus stop near the National University of Singapore. Fortunately, he had his mobile phone with him and after more instructions, got to my home 30 minutes later.

I have noticed that some of the buses operated by SMRT display signs of the next bus stop coming up. But they are ineffective when names of bus stops are similar. Also, the entire fleet of buses here will have to be upgraded to make a difference.

I have a few suggestions to solve the problem:
- Assign a unique identification (ID) to each bus stop and display it prominently so that it is visible from a distance of 200m to 300m whether it is day or night.
- The bus guide and tourist maps should indicate the bus stop ID in addition to the bus stop's name.
- The ID system could also be used by Internet- and mobile-based services.

Such a standardised system will go a long way in making our public transport system more friendly for commuters.

Prem Prakash

[Unique ID for every bus-stop that can be see 300m away? UGLY! As it is there are already too many signs and advertisements littering our landscape. Most bus services cater to the resident population and they learn the bus routes after the initial period. Tourist tend to stay within the tourist belt or to visit specific attractions. The next letter is more practical.]

Tourists may have other options

MRS HYUNHEE Kim's letter ('Lost after taking the bus'; Tuesday) brought back memories of an almost similar situation that my family and I experienced in South Korea.

We had found a place of interest online which had instructions on how to get there via public transport.

The first part of the journey was smooth enough as it was by the Metro; but the second part was by bus. We tried to follow the online instructions which was to board a green bus with a certain number.

There were no instructions on when to get off, and we could not understand anything from the bus-stand signs as English is not widely used there.

Nevertheless, we boarded the bus and travelled a distance before we decided to ask a fellow passenger who, to our relief, spoke some English.

Like Seoul, I believe Singapore's public bus network is designed to provide cost-efficient transportation for a large portion of the population and caters less to tourists who are less familiar with the routes.

Places of interest are usually accessible via the tourist transport network and these would have all the sophisticated tools to get first-time visitors to where they want to go.

As new families get to know Singapore better, they could use other means, for example, smart phones with locator or map tools. Or, they could seek assistance from fellow passengers.

Donovan Sy

MRT travails of a pregnant woman

[Usually I picked on silly forum letters. But this one not silly. It was the online comment (after the letter) that caught my eye. Uncourteous and ungracious and barely forgiveable. Rude and obnoxious (in this situation) speaks of an entitlement mentality and a self-centredness that would shame his parents.]

Oct 28, 2010

I AM almost seven months pregnant and I take the MRT and bus to work daily. During the course of my pregnancy, fewer than 10 people have given up their seats to me.

Last week, I was standing in front of a priority seat on the MRT. The person sitting on it got up as he was getting off the train, but a man in his 40s brushed past me to grab the seat.

[May be "racist" of me, but I suspect he's from China.]

In his haste, he pushed me just as the train was leaving the station. I almost lost my balance but he pretended not to notice me and fell asleep. I can understand that he was eager to get the seat, but I cannot accept such ungracious behaviour.

People have bumped into my tummy with their huge backpacks and handbags, and I have endured jerky train rides with no poles for me to hold on to as some commuters choose to lean on them. I have also had my feet trampled on and been pushed as some passengers rush to alight without so much as an 'excuse me'.

Is it so difficult for us to practise some graciousness in our everyday life? Pregnant women do not want to be treated like queens, but at the very least, be considerate to them. Even if no one gives up his seat to me, a person who asks if I would like to lean on the glass panel at the end of the row of seats would earn my gratitude, because at least someone notices and cares.

I have even given up my seat to an old woman who was walking with a tongkat. Are there no able-bodied young men or women around?

[Of course people will paint themselves in a good light, and yes, we only have her perspective. But the tone of her letter speaks of a lack of entitlement mentality that is laudable. I feel empathy for her and I wish Singaporeans would be more gracious, and I think she's right. A dim sum dolly ad is not going to work.]

I hope people can be more considerate to pregnant women and old folk. This is something our society needs to work on, and it can't be fixed with just a Dim Sum Dollies campaign.

Cai Suqi (Ms)

Online comment

An elderly passenger did not choose to be elderly. A handicapped passenger did not choose to be handicapped. Gestures of grace or sympathy are rightly due to them. But a pregnant passenger exercised her own free will, with eyes wide open, to be pregnant. So take responsibility for the decision you make, expect the vissicitudes of life that come with the decision, and shut up already.
Posted by: acsian12 at Thu Oct 28 10:50:54 SGT 2010

How rude. Wonder if writer is really from ACS or just trying to defame the school. Prime candidate for retroactive abortion. His/Her mother really wasted her time and made the wrong choice carrying it to term.

Obviously it is still a virgin. Or it would know that some women when getting pregnant (or trying to) close their eyes.

And of course the elderly has a choice whether to grow old... or die. Such closed minded "logic".

I highly recommend acsian12 to consider living fast, dying young and leaving a corpse. I don't know what it looks like so I can't say "good-looking corpse". Probably ugly. Like its soul.

Casinos catering more to S'poreans than tourists?

Letter from Leong Sze Hian
Today Online 05:55 AM Oct 25, 2010

I REFER to media reports about Singaporeans visiting the two casinos here.

If Singaporeans reportedly make up about a third of the 55,000 visitors to the two casinos, does it mean that there has been about 3.85 million (55,000 ÷ 3 x 210 days) visits by Singaporeans to the casinos in the seven months since their opening?

If we add to this figure permanent residents (PRs), the number of visits may cross 4 million.

If we include the 1.4 million foreigners who are resident in Singapore visiting the casinos, then the number of tourists (two-thirds of the daily 55,000 less PRs and foreigner residents) may not be even half the total number who visit the casinos.

So, are the casinos catering more to attract Singapore residents or tourists?

Finally, why are the statistics not being made public?

[Maybe because stupid people may make dumb conclusions like this one? Let's see in 7 months 3.85 million visits by Singaporeans. Implying that practically every Singaporean, man woman and child, has been there at least once? And apparently, all 1.4m resident foreigners are visiting the casinos as well! That's every foreign talent, PR, foreign worker, foreign maid, and foreign bride!

3.85m is practically the whole population of SC. I haven't gone to the casino. Most of my colleagues have not gone (or maybe would not admit to having gone). So many of those who go are repeat visitors.

But Mr Leong is not stupid. He generally provides analysis of financial issues and offers some intriguing viewpoints. But this is probably pre-election posturing.]

Is there a serious educational gap?

Oct 18, 2010

MS LIM Zi Kun's letter ("Generation Y: Don't assume we're not serious"; Oct 8) is a breath of fresh air, coming as it does from an 18-year-old with everything to live and strive for still ahead of her.

If what she claims is true - that she and her peers are still quite unaware of "Singapore's legislative machinery, government policies and political culture" after 12 years of education - then something ought to be done quickly.

She has identified a serious gap in the education of our young, a gap that could seriously compromise Singapore's continued progress.

Those in the position to change the status quo should ensure that she and her peers, and all those who come after them, understand the importance of their personal contributions and are able to make intelligent and informed decisions about things that affect their lives and Singapore.

Singapore would be so much the poorer without citizens of this calibre.

Lee Seck Kay

[I read that same letter, and a part of me was thinking, yeah right. There is a critique of Singapore's education system, and Singapore students that the system and the product of the system are not very pro-active about learning. They are spoon fed. Whatever they need to know, they expect to be spoon fed. I must say that when I was 18, I probably didn't know everything about Singapore politics or Singapore history. But I probably knew quite a bit, from personal interests, from reading the papers, from questioning the situation, and just wondering why things were the way they were.

When I was 18, there was no internet. At least not the internet of today, and certainly I had no access to the rudimentary internet.

But there's wikipedia today. And if you're 18 years old, and you profess an interest in Singapore's politics, legislative system, and history and you have not found out from wikipedia, then you are either lying about your professed interest, or every time you log onto the internet, you are facebooking. Distracted.

Or did you want the official version of everything to be spoon fed to you? Then I guess, you are a product victim of our education system.]

Oct 8, 2010

Don't assume we're not serious

AS A 'Gen Y' Singaporean who is turning 18, I realise that despite 12 years of national education and two years of social studies, I remain quite unaware of Singapore's legislative machinery, government policies and political culture.

Likewise, most of my peers have never heard of the Women's Charter, and are clueless about the laws of estate, marriage, inheritance, censorship and so on.

Most adults around us have neither discussed nor spoken to us about Singapore law and politics in an open and impartial manner. This has created a false impression that these subjects are taboo, unrelated to our lives and exclusive only to the academic elite. We must correct the misconception among young people that law and politics do not concern them.

When adults instil in them the belief that they have a stake in the law, governance and their own future, perhaps they will not be as apathetic as adults claim they are.

To help create awareness, private organisations could work with schools to hold talks, symposiums and the like to actively inform young people about Singapore's law and political culture in an unbiased and objective manner. The Ministry of Education could also make it a mandatory part of the curriculum for pre-university and tertiary students.

If young people are more informed, they are more likely to make informed decisions and they might also actively seek to improve the quality of legislation and governance in Singapore.

What is needed is an informative platform for youth to understand their place in the nation's 'eco-system' in real terms. It should be a springboard for civic thinking and, by all means, activism.

Lim Zi Kun (Ms)

[I wanna say, go Google it, you twit! But decided she has a point also. The school hasn't taught her to go find things out herself. Sad.]

Regulate parking in private estates

Oct 14, 2010

PARKING illegally and causing traffic obstruction is rampant in private residential estates. This scenario is, however, uncommon in HDB estates and almost non-existent along major roads.

Time and again, we read in the news that neighbours come into conflict and even end up in court over disputes of traffic obstruction.

When the authorities ignore indiscriminate parking in private estates, they are sending a message that such offences are tolerated. Thus the line between running afoul of and compliance with the law becomes obscure. The consequence of this is that more disorderly behaviour may be condoned.

Richard Goh

[This is not a silly letter. But it speaks to our love-hate relationship with the authorities/government, and it reveals our desire to abdicate our independence to the government. The writer does not make a distinction between private space and public space, government matters and private matters. The distinction is not between compliance or non-compliance of laws but applicability of laws, situational needs, government intervention or over-intervention. Or it speaks to boorish behaviour of the nouveau riche. or the pseudo-riche. or the materially wealthy, but morally bankrupt.]

A high-speed railway dream

Oct 5, 2010

THE Tanjong Pagar Railway Station must be preserved for future use as the terminus for the high-speed rail service to Kuala Lumpur, and beyond to China.

[Why?]

The smaller metre gauge tracks, like those used in old tin mines, will have to be changed at Tanjong Pagar. But we are not just thinking of convenience for passengers, railways are viable only if they carry freight.

[Sounds like additional work for no change in the situation.]

China is planning to build its track down from Yunnan through Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia to Singapore. It needs another access point for the vast hinterland of central China. Its eastern railheads on the Pacific coast are choked with too much freight and cannot move any faster. Hence, the need for this more southern bridgehead.

[So why Tanjong Pagar? Why can't the station start at say... Woodlands? Or better yet, Johor Bahru?]

It is up to the South-east Asian nations to grasp this opportunity to help themselves as well as China. In very many ways, all will benefit.

There will be revenue from the faster nocturnal cargo traffic and daily high-speed passenger traffic direct from our city centre next to Tanjong Pagar station to Kuala Lumpur and then further to Bangkok.

The Chinese railway is expected to also connect through Xinjiang and Urumchi/Kashgar to the European rail network via Iran and Turkey.

From Tanjong Pagar, one would, in effect, be able to buy a ticket through to London.
With engineering and architectural ingenuity, the station at Tanjong Pagar could be preserved and stay alive within a modern high-rise complex.

George Yuille Caldwell

[Nice letter. Doesn't grasp the point about addressing the point of a railway line that cuts thru half of Singapore, tying up valuable land. Yes, we can have a high-speed train to serve voracious China. But it doesn't have to start at Tanjong Pagar station. It would work just as well if not better from Woodlands or even across the causeway.]

Low-flying concern for residents

Oct 2, 2010

YESTERDAY'S report ('RSAF helicopter makes forced landing in Woodlands field') is a stark reminder that for all our emphasis on safety protocols and meticulous attention to maintaining and servicing combat aircraft, there is cause for concern.

I live along a stretch of road in the East Coast that lies directly in the path of aircraft making their landing in Paya Lebar Air Base. The planes fly extremely low, and are barely metres above the rooftops of some of the neighbouring apartments.

[This is a standard requirement for landing planes. The planes that are attempting to land, should preferably, gradually reduce their altitude. This requires them to slowly get lower and lower. The alternative of being very high and then suddenly drop to ground level has been found to be greatly increase the chances of crashes to about 100%. This is generally considered a bad landing technique.]

I have also seen the Hercules aircraft in low-level flying, encircling the airbase. What safety measures does the Defence Ministry have in place to protect residential areas? What parameters are used in determining that these low flight paths are safe?

Are exhaustive methods used to train pilots on what to do should an emergency occur at different stages of the landing approach?

[We try not to use exhaustive methods to train our pilots otherwise when they too exhausted, they tend to make mistakes, like crash their planes into your house. We therefore use comprehensive methods so the pilots can comprehend (that means understand) the landing procedure and what to do in case of emergency. We also have contingency plans. This is in case the pilot cannot control his bladder (incontingent; in Hokkien, jio kin) which may make him try to land the plane too fast and thereby cause the plane to crash into your house.]

Are there alternative landing paths that would not place the land approach right above densely populated areas?

[As the plane needs to fly lower and lower as it lands, the buildings along the landing path are restricted to low rise buildings. For example, we would never have built Pinnacle@Duxton along the landing path. So population density is already lower; there are fewer people living along the flight path. However, if by "population density" you mean how "dense" (stupid) the population is, that is not important for the landing of the plane. In any case, most likely the people living there are either dense or hard-up. They should already know that they are in the landing path, they still stay there! Or they buy the homes there very cheap (cos the sellers irritated by noise of planes landing and taking off, and buyers know so they bargain the price down. So those that buy homes there also probably a bit cheapskate or hard-up: want landed property but can't buy better location. ]

Should the ministry consider relocating the air base?

Dr Yuen Siu Mun

[Dr Yuen asks what safety measures are in place to protect residential areas. The answer is: none. You're all going to die! Crash and burn, man! Crash and burn!

Alternative Answer: We depend on the pilots' sense of self-preservation to ensure that their planes are in airworthy condition, and not to crash at all. The persons most likely to die are those on the plane. This includes the pilot. They cannot choose to be elsewhere at that time. (Unless they use the emergency parachutes.) There is at least a chance that residents may be at some hawker centre eating (or in the office, etc) when the plane crashes into their homes. So they can still survive. However, we note that the presence of parachutes may promote laxity in ensuring planes are airworthy and that pilots exercise due care in landing their planes. We are therefore removing parachutes from all aircrafts from now onwards. Dr Yuen can be assured that the pilots will be henceforth even more cautious and crash-adverse.

Should the airbase be relocated? Where to? The airbase has been there for 30 years. The low flying aircraft has been flying low for 30 years. It's about time one of them crash soon. So, move already! Why you still hanging around there? Wanna die issit? Anyway, we did a quick check. The people in Serangoon Gardens also don't want the Airbase near there. They say already got foreign workers dormitory, so should give other people a chance to sacrifice for the country.

Comment: The writer has seized this opportunity to make a case for moving Paya Lebar Airbase elsewhere (as long as it's not in my backyard - NIMBY)! If he succeeds, his property will appreciate in value. However, the current site has already been in existence for 30 years as an Airbase, and longer, if you include the years it had operated as an International Airport. The surrounding area has been zoned and restricted in development to ensure that there is a safe path for aircraft landing. Moving the airbase is not going to be easy in land scarce Singapore. Any other site will mean introducing a new disamenity to residents, not to mention demolishing buildings that are too tall in the flight path. This would mean additional costs. There are probably few if any viable sites left in Singapore. However residents in the path of landing aircraft by now should be used to the disamenity, or if not should have moved out long ago. There is little point in moving the airbase. Moreover in 30 years of operations, there has been no crashes into residential areas. The writer can either decide that one is long overdue and move before it happens, or take comfort in the track record. For comparison, the former Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong was surrounded by densely packed residential areas, and there has been no crashes despite the high volume of air traffic.

To take a singular episode which ended with no loss of life and minimal risks to civilian lives, and to blow it out of proportion, presumably for his own property value, is fear-mongering for fun and profit. To suggest that there is a real danger and yet to stay put in his current residence, is disingenuous.]