To flee or not to flee?

Frequent doodling and drawing have developed my patience as an artist. But every time I took our train services during peak hours, I got really upset and frustrated with ‘smoke’ fuming out from my hair.

First, the trains are fully packed with commuters like sardines in a can with my face just inches away from those strangers. I had to quickly cover my nose & mouth when ever someone near me sneezed or coughed. But moving my hand quickly could potentially touch the other person unintentionally and the risk of molest if I’m surrounded by young inside the packed cabin.

 

Next, our train services often chose to breakdown during these peak periods. The train either refused to move or at times moved very slowly by the inch due to some faults. Our ‘big brothers’ and the train’s operator chief had explained all sort of reasons but the real root causes to these recurring problems. I strongly believe it’s due to overloading of the system if one analyse the breakdown statistics. Train service breakdowns during non-peak hours are rare. Go check it.

Our train systems were designed & built more than 30 years ago. They were designed to cater for a small population of 3M people, not the current 5.5M to 6M population. Some of the old stations, especially those underground ones were so small that commuters could hardly move inside during peak hours. 

There is currently no other public transport alternative as no direct bus route runs parallel to our train networks. One would need longer traveling time to take multiple buses to reach the same destination or train station. When the same operator runs both the train and bus services, it’s common business sense to get more people on the train than on buses to maximize profitability. Think about it.

For every delayed trip, I’m charged the same fare for my journey although it took longer than what is stipulated on their route-map. Surely, the train operator is not delivering the service as promised in traveling time. Yet there is no compensation for the delay and I have to run the risk of being late for work. But I have no other choice but to use the service and start my journey early. Every day, I’m fearful of taking the service and gamble with potential delay. I’m loosing everyday. Sigh!