So just in case you’ve missed it, the MRT has broken down again; no real surprises there. How many times has it broken down since the start of the year? What about all the maintenance and inspections that we’ve been promised? I guess they don’t kick in until maybe six months before the General Election, and then we’ll see a flawless train system; one that has no break downs, perfect timings, not crowded, has the right ambient temperature, maybe even an occasional seat for you to sit on.
However, in the meantime, the MRT doesn’t have any of those things and so this author believes that it is time for the government to allow chewing gum back into Singapore again. Not that medical gum that helps people stop smoking, I mean the good old-fashioned ones like Wrigley’s Spearmint.
Why? Well, because one of the main reasons why the government banned chewing gum was because they were concerned about vandals sticking gum onto MRT train doors, thus, reducing their efficiency*. For those who don’t remember, don’t know, or weren’t born then, the message was that a jammed door would not just mean one stopped train (as the train pilot tries to scrub off the offending gum and get the doors to shut properly again), but all the subsequent trains behind it would have to stop or slow down too. That would result in chaos and we can’t have that because the main reason why we have the MRT is so that a large number of people (mass) can travel quickly (rapid) from place to place (transit).
Which segues perfectly (not really) to my next point – does the government realise the true, real cost of these breakdowns? Surely they must! Let’s do a hypothetical, somewhat imaginative scenario here. Let’s say Mr. Lucky U. Wite** is delayed by an hour. His company is essentially paying him an hour’s wages for no return whatsoever. Obviously, his company won’t be too happy about this, and being the profit-driven society that we are, would almost certainly want Mr. Lucky U. Wite to make up for the lost hour. Mr. Lucky U. Wite also missed an important conference call (because of the train delay) to an overseas client and hence, loses a small, but significant overseas client to a competitor. So, Mr. Lucky U. Wite stays for more than an extra hour, trying desperately to make up for that lost hour (which wasn’t his fault in the first place) and the lost client. He misses dinner with his wife, which has two flow-on effects. Firstly, his peptic ulcers flare up again, due to the constant stress and the regular skipping of meals. Secondly, his relationship with his wife, which is already on the rocks, takes another hit. Eventually, Mr. Lucky U. Wite will be spending a large chunk of his Medisave on stomach ulcer medication and a large portion of his savings on relationship counselling. Oh, and he can forget about even trying to start a family, what with his poor physical and mental health, as well as his marriage in the doldrums.
Yes, my little melodrama above is a little far-fetched, but I hope the government realises that these breakdowns have a far-reaching effect that isn’t merely limited to lost time and lost money. People’s lives are being affected in so many different ways that not even the people affected can truly count the cost of their losses.
So what’s the link with chewing gum? Nothing really, I just thought it was an irreverent way of bringing up the subject of efficiency on the trains. Personally, I hate chewing gum and am glad that the government found an excuse to ban it.
* Chewing gum has always been a bane to pedestrians, cleaners and Lee Kuan Yew. However, it wasn’t until the advent of the MRT in Singapore that the government finally decided to put its foot down and banned it.
** Can anyone work out what Lucky U. Wite is an anagram for, and what wite means?
BlackandWhite
TRS Contributor