It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell you what’s wrong with Singapore’s public transport system-it’s too crowded, breaks down too often, and for those who are located far from MRT stations, is too slow.

The Public Transport Council’s recent survey is now hoping to glean more insights on why the public transport experience sucks.

Instead of harping on the crowding and breakdowns, which to be fair aren’t going to be fixed anytime soon, they have chosen to focus on the areas which can be changed.

Their first report has touched on some ways to make public transport more inclusive for commuters such as families, the elderly and the disabled. More reports are forthcoming.

I’d just like to jump the gun and offer some suggestions that many of the Singaporeans around me have provided.

Bring back the MRT seats

You can’t not have noticed that at some point in our recent past, MRT carriages with zero seats came into being.

People complained about overcrowding, and then someone at LTA/SMRT had a huge brainwave-remove the seats and you can cram even more people in!

Um, when people highlighted the overcrowding, they were hoping for increased train frequencies or more carriages, not the removal of seats.

To be fair, most people who commute during peak hour do not even have a fighting chance of getting a seat.

But removing the seats altogether reduces the number of people who can sit down during off peak hours.

And anyone will tell you that being able to sit down, even if it means waiting a couple of stops for others to vacate their seats, makes a world of difference to your comfort levels, especially if you face a long commute.

In 2015, there was a report which mentioned that fold-up seats might soon be available-let’s hope this comes to pass, although we foresee that Stomping will be brought to a whole new level, as Singaporeans navigate the minefields of when it is appropriate to fold up your seat so the other sardines in the can have more room to breathe.

Allow non-foldable bicycles on trains and buses

The PTC’s report revealed that parents want to be allowed to bring strollers onto buses without having to first fold them up.

Well, they’re not the only ones who find it highly inconvenient not being able to bring certain things onto buses and trains.

People who ride bicycles and other mobility devices face a conundrum when they have to rely on the MRT to complete their commutes.

At present, only foldable bicycles are allowed on the MRT. A good foldie is quite expensive, and many people find cycling on tiny wheels slow and uncomfortable. Nobody wants to lock their nice bicycles up at the station because bicycle theft is rampant.

If Singapore is truly going to become a cycling city, they’re going to have to find a way to enable commuters to transport their bicycles on the train. Outside of peak hours, allowing bicycles should not be a problem, especially as so many seats have already been removed to create standing areas.

Sure, it’s going to be an inconvenience. In a city where people can commute entirely by bicycle without having to rely on public transport, or where they can just hop in a car to get somewhere further, banning bicycles on public transport would be more reasonable.

But if Singapore really wants Singapore to be “car-lite” or whatever, some concessions will have to be made in order to promote alternative forms of transport.

Bus routes should be made clearer on buses and at bus stops

If you’re one of those unlucky souls who lives far away from the nearest MRT station, you’ve probably tried to take buses to your final destination, figuring that it’d save you having to take the feeder bus to the MRT station.

Being one of those people, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve found myself staring squinty-eyed at the bus routes posted up at bus stops, before searching the road names on my phone in order to ascertain where exactly a particular route would be taking me.

Even if you go so far as to fork out the money to buy the Bus Guide at Popular, the routes are confusing simply because you only have road names to go by.

One big problem is that there’s no visual representation of the bus routes online. If the bus service websites could post up maps showing the routes of the various buses, life would be a lot easier.

In addition, there’s also the problem of not knowing which stop to get off at.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve missed a stop, only to realise the next one was a million miles away.

There is no clear indication of which stop a bus is at. While bus stops are labelled, it is often difficult to see them from inside a crowded bus, especially when the windows are always tinted with some ad so you can barely see outside.

You could be alighting in Hell for all you know.

In the old days as a student, I used to just ask the bus driver to tell me when to get off.

But when buses are crowded or the driver has difficulty understanding English, that tactic doesn’t work as well.

Also, when you’re forced to move to the back of the bus and there’s a sea of people between you and the driver, it’s a lot harder to give him a shout out.

Digital displays in all buses informing passengers of the next stop would be a huge help.

This is something I’ve seen in many countries, and I don’t see what’s stopping the bus companies from installing them on the buses in Singapore.

In addition, a map providing a visual representation of the bus routes should be made available online, or even better, at bus stops.

The article first appeared on MoneySmart.

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Her painting was inspired by friends and neighbours of different races and backgrounds.

And it was a thrilling experience for artist Tan Hui Min, 34, to see it exhibited at the National Day Parade last night in the most innovative of ways – on the costumes of performers.

Miss Tan, who has low IQ and mild mutism, was one of the Touch Community Services special-needs artists whose hand-painted artworks were adapted for the NDP performance.

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

AsiaOne, Berita Harian, The Straits Times

She is also a craft assistant with the organisation.

Miss Tan told The New Paper in an e-mail interview: “My inspiration is from racial harmony. I have a lot of friends and neighbours of different races in Singapore.

“In my painting, I drew children from the four races holding hands to show them living in harmony in Singapore.”

The performance, orchestrated by the Singapore Soka Association, saw 420 participants flip their large skirts to create an impressive mass display of the artworks.

PERFORMER TOO

But Miss Tan was unable to witness the transformation of her painting because she was also a performer for the segment.

In tune with the parade’s message of inclusivity, Miss Tan and about 150 special-needs participants from seven voluntary welfare organisations led the crowd in hand-signing two popular National Day songs: Home and Count On Me, Singapore.

The audience was also invited to sing and sign along.

Miss Tan said she didn’t know her painting would be exhibited on such a large scale and learnt about it being used for such a massive visual display only when her teacher showed her a photo of it.

“I felt happy and thrilled when my teacher took pictures (of the adapted painting during the rehearsals) and showed them to me,” said Miss Tan.

“I feel excited and delighted that my artwork was being featured during National Day.”

Miss Tan did the artwork, which took about four hours to complete, a few years ago.

The painting was selected by the NDP committee earlier this year for the performance.

Crowd-pleasers

1. The crowd roared its approval of the retelling of folk hero Badang’s story. The highlight was when he burst through a “rock” to emerge victorious.

2. A unicorn was suspended above the stadium – against a sea of rainbow-coloured lights from LED wristbands worn by members of the audience – symbolising the hopes and dreams of the younger generation.

3. A floating island, made up of multiple iconic buildings up to six- storeys high, was lifted above the stage. The Sky City prop was meant to inspire the audience to look towards the future and to celebrate that the Singapore of tomorrow is here today.

4. For the first time in NDP’s history, over 150 special needs participants signed to familiar NDP songs like Count On Me, Singapore and Home. The audience was invited to join in, a gesture aimed at creating a more caring and inclusive Singapore.

5. The enclosed venue meant indoor fireworks – which wowed the audience. Those who did not have a chance to attend the NDP at the stadium were treated to a separate segment of outdoor fireworks.

This article was first published on Aug 10, 2016.
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Global terrorism threats and a weak economic sentiment may have cast a pall over the tourism industry, but travel agencies are cautiously optimistic that Singaporeans will continue to spend at two upcoming travel fairs.

The National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (Natas) Travel Fair will take place at Singapore Expo Hall 3 from Friday to Sunday.

It will have 67 exhibitors, of which 22 are travel agencies.

The 49th edition of the fair will include a food and wine fair, and a lucky draw.

Also, nurses from Tan Tock Seng Hospital will provide advice on travel vaccination.

The fourth Travel Revolution fair, organised by the Singapore Outbound Travel Agents Association (Sotaa), will be held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre from Aug 19 to 21.

The 61 exhibitors include 33 travel agencies. Admission to both fairs is free.

Sotaa was formed in May last year by 25 agencies that pulled out of Natas’ twice-yearly fairs to organise their own event, Travel Revolution.

They included major players Chan Brothers Travel, CTC Travel and Dynasty Travel, which cited issues with previous fairs such as high rental rates and a lack of transparency.

The outlook for the industry is “challenging” given the spate of news on the weak economy and terrorist attacks, said a Sotaa spokesman.

“That said, travel has long become an integral part of the lifestyle of Singaporeans who are known to be hardcore travellers, deft in adjusting their travel plans rather than forgoing them altogether.”

Trending destinations include Australia and New Zealand, as security concerns in Europe drive Singaporeans Down Under.

Nordic countries such as Finland and Iceland are also hot destinations as this year is touted to be the last year to catch the Northern Lights before they diminish.

The next peak of solar activity is not expected till 2025.

Many are also heading to Britain to take advantage of the falling pound following the Brexit vote.

Also popular are perennial favourites Japan and South Korea.

The Japanese yen, though rising, is still relatively low compared to its heyday, while South Korea is fast rebounding after last year’s Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) health scare.

One Singapore dollar could buy about 76 yen yesterday, compared with 63.3 five years ago.

A Natas spokesman said that despite an uncertain global economic outlook, it anticipates growth in overseas travel as Singapore increases its flight connections.

It noted that there are new direct flights from Singapore to destinations such as Cairns and Canberra in Australia, Okinawa and Hokkaido in Japan (during the year end), Dusseldorf in Germany and San Francisco in the United States.

POPULAR DESTINATIONS

• Australia

• New Zealand

• Finland

• Iceland

• Britain

• Japan

• South Korea

This article was first published on August 10, 2016.
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It never snows in Singapore but some MRT commuters are feeling the chill – thanks to ice showers coming from the air-conditioner vents of some trains.

The phenomenon happened on China-made trains plying the Circle Line.

The Straits Times understands that there were at least two incidents last month.

On a train heading from Bartley to Kent Ridge on a Saturday morning, ice shards – some the size of a little finger – blasted from a vent.

The train was evacuated mid-journey.

The second incident took place on a Monday afternoon on a train from Bras Basah to Serangoon, when ice particles fell from above.

The trains were designed by French manufacturer Alstom and assembled in China.

Their air-conditioning system was jointly designed by Alstom and Chinese equipment supplier King.

The Land Transport Authority told The Straits Times it was aware of the freezing flaw, and was taking steps to rectify it.

“The forming of the ice particles was caused by the excessive cooling of the air-conditioning system,” said an LTA spokesman.

“Rectification works are being carried out, and we are also conducting fleetwide checks as a precautionary measure.”

She added that there was no impact on train operations as the rectification works and checks are done concurrently when the trains are undergoing their scheduled preventive maintenance.

She also said such problems are not specific to trains, and “can happen to home air-conditioning systems and refrigerators”.

Professor Choo Fook Hoong of the Energy Research Institute at Nanyang Technological University said that while the phenomenon does arise, “it is not common”.

“Usually, it’s when the sensor is faulty and it is not detecting temperatures accurately,” he said, adding that the air-con would then run continuously and humidity in the air condenses before ice forms.

Prof Choo said the flaw is relatively easy to fix – by replacing the faulty sensor.

Rival transport group ComfortDelGro Corp said it has encountered ice forming on the air-con vents of its Downtown Line trains too.

Last month, there were also reports of water streaming down from the air-con vents of an East-West Line train.

This article was first published on August 10, 2016.
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