Every morning,
when I wait frantically
for the next MRT train
to arrive,
minutes ticking away
as I need to rush
to office,
and when it arrives,
I'd squeeze in
amongst thousands
the pungent smell
of body odour
mingling with
the smell of freshly
scubbed bodies
shampooed hair
and freshly laundered clothes.
Singapore is an island city,
so it means the city cannot grow
beyond its shores.
Its hard to plan subways
for inland cities
because the cities keep growing
over its boundaries.
Some like London,
keep a greenbelt,
to restrict the growth
of the city.
Singapore's growth is limited
by its shores,
even though that can increase slightly
through reclaimation of land.
So the most accurate comparison
of transport systems
would be other island cities,
like Hong Kong and New York.
Both have populations
about double
of Singapore.
But I noticed,
I never had to cramp in
a subway in New York nor Hong Kong.
For a simple reason,
train frequencies
are alot higher there,
for that matter,
almost anywhere
where you have dense populations.
So for curiosity,
I took a look
at the financial statements
of SMRT
for the last 4 years.
Year ending Q3Y03 profit S$72.1 million
Year ending Q3Y04 profit S$89.5 million
Year ending Q3Y05 profit S$126.7 million
Year ending Q3Y06 profit S$103.4 million
JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!!!!
Can they for one fucking moment
stop making all these millions
and spare a thought
for their poor commuter
and perhaps provide
more trains?
