The Human Compression.

I'm driving and I enjoy the comfort of having my own transport, be it bike in the past or car in the present. Its a matter of exchanging money for comfort, sacrificing for the instalment and operating expenses every month for my Mitsubishi Lancer that could be otherwise spend else where. I'm not rich and I am in the middle class. So I can't be extravagant on my spendings. Instead of driving to Changi Airport and parking there for 5 hours (which will easily cost S$15) just to take the Mathematics and Physics CAAS exam paper, I decided to take the public transport instead. Actually I cheated a bit since hitch a ride on my sis car to her office in Bedok and took a train from there instead.

Best place to call a home, Changi Airport.

From Changi Airport, I took the MRT and headed to Plaza Singapura to shop. On my way home in the evening peak hours where many other people like you are getting off work from the City and heading back home, this is a common sight in a MRT Train,


Jam packed and compressed... this is what every developed city in the world faces; the peak hour "Human Compression". You never have to move more than an inch before you intrude into another person comfort zone which had been intentionally shrunk for the sake of heading back home after a long day facing their bosses music (Boss drive car home by the way). Every time the door slides open at another Station, I wonder just how much more passenger the train can take before it stops moving. Thankfully, Singaporean had much intuition themselves not to further threatened the comfort bubble of fellow commuters by forcing themselves into a fully packed train.

Its been a long time since I last took a train from the City back home during peak hours. After so many years, the issue of crowded probably overloaded peak hour train still exist. Everyone wonder whats with all the transport fare hikes and little improvement to peak hour traffic flow? Sadly why do the privatised transport company had to care at all? As long as fellow Singaporean (and now many foreign worker) scan their EZ Link card and enter the train platform, money goes to the company regardless if they catch the train in 5 minutes, 15 minutes or 30 minutes later due to overcrowded train. Stuck in a traffic jam while driving is due to choice but stuck at the same station with late train or no-capacity train is beyond many commuters choices.

Recently a certain local public transport bus company was fined S$1000 for not following the arrival schedule. In retrospect, if you are caught speeding...you are fined S$200, caught littering you are fined $120, caught Jaywalking fined S$20, parking without coupon S$30 and you only earn S$2500 a month compare to the public transport company reaping in an income of at less 5 figures sum. What the hell is a S$1000 fine to them? Its not even half the salary of a bus driver.

As car owners are at the mercy of COE and ERP, people taking public transport at at the mercy of the Public Transportation Company. However the irony of the situation is no matter how much "Human Compression" there are in the morning and evening peak hour traffic, a country economy and thus the livelihood of the salary worker will come to a halt without a public transport system for small country or small city like Singapore or New York City, a place where the 5 figure salary man takes public transport to work and leave the car at home.