Although a one-year trial for free travel on the MRT network before the morning rush hour will begin on June 24, not many commuters may be able to get up early to avoid the crowds.
Perhaps another way to solve the problems caused by increasing ridership is to have MRT pushers, a job that was created in Tokyo, Japan.
There are a few steps in how the job is done. First, these railway station attendants perform safety checks before the train reaches the platform. Second, they watch passengers get on and off the train safely when doors open.
Third, before the train departs, they guide passengers who cannot find a space on the train to a cabin where there is more room.
Fourth, they check that no passengers or baggage items would be stuck in the doors when they close. They also push passengers who would get stuck or pull out passengers who try to board too late.
Last but not least, they hold up a flag to signal to the driver that it is safe to depart. By assigning workers to follow these steps on platforms, it would eliminate the potential danger of people slipping into the platform gap.
I take the train every day to get to my polytechnic, and I think our train operators should consider this suggestion seriously.
BILL WANG ZHENG CHAO