Kelvin Teo
As the dust from recent debates on transport fare hikes settles, it must be reiterated that one of the main talking points was the comfort level of rides, which in other words means getting one’s money worth for his trip. Our current transport minister, Mr Lui Tuck Yew, also raised the issue of comfort level in public transport. The government has since proceeded with a 1% hike in public transport fees, as opposed to the 2.8% proposed by the public transport operators.
Gauging the comfort level achieved in other countries for their public transportation in comparison with that of our own will actually give us ideas on how to improve the comfort level of our public transport. Whether or not we can reach the level of comfort achieved by public transportation services in overseas countries remains to be seen, but at least, they set a bar in which we can and should be striving towards.
Thus, what follows for the rest of this piece will be an image-by-image comparison between our Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) and Queensland Rail, specifically pertaining to commuter comfort and train design.
SMRT trains (Seating layout)
Photo courtesy of Jeremy Lumandong, Flickr Commons
Photo courtesy of staminajim, Flickr Commons
In terms of seat layout, notice that the newer and previous generations of SMRT trains have the seats placed along the vertical axis of the train. There is a wide-spaced central aisle where other commuters who fail to find their seats can stand at.
Queensland Rail trains (Seating layout)
The above picture is an example of a carriage of a Queensland Rail train transiting towards the international and domestic airports. Trains that run along other routes have a similar seating layout. Contrast this with the carriage of an SMRT train. The seats are aligned horizontal to the train axis, with two seats at each side of the aisle. The central aisle however is narrower in comparison with the SMRT trains. However, this gives Queensland Rail trains greater seating capacity as compared with our SMRT trains. In a nutshell, the Queensland Rail trains have similar seating layout as public buses. The question is whether trains possessing the public bus-like seat layout can sustain peak human traffic especially during peak periods. Due to the fact that the central aisle is narrower, it may not hold as many passengers as SMRT trains during peak periods,if we combine both seated and standing passengers. However, that can be circumvented with increased frequency of service.
However, during non-peak periods, trains with the public bus seat-layout can provide a greater level of comfort to commuters due to its greater seating capacity. The SMRT trains are still limited by the seating capacity as a result of its current seating layout and even during non-peak periods, there is higher likelihood of ending up with passengers who cannot find seats.
Seating comfort – Queensland Rail
The seats of Queensland Rail trains are all cushioned in contrast with the hard material of the seats in our SMRT trains.
Other aesthetics and designs
This may not be relevant to the discussion on comfort in rides, but more to do with aesthetics of the rail network. The above images are taken from the route towards Roma Street station, Brisbane, Queensland, where graffiti adorn the walls on both sides of the railway lines. Though, the topic of aesthetics can be subjective, it is hard to deny that those graffiti that ‘decorate’ walls on both side of the rails have a touch of Oliver Fricker* about them. Of course, we must disclaim that we do not advocate spray painting our SMRT train stations with graffiti. This must be done with relevant consultation with our authorities.
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*Oliver Fricker was charged in Singapore’s courts for breaking into a Changi train depot and spray painting graffiti on train carriages
B4 anyone jumps into conclusion,please note the fare is about 3-5 times higher than Singapore. We should compared apples to apples
Dear bne man:
The standard of living and wages are higher in Australia than Singapore. Median income is higher. The minimum wage per hour is 3 times higher than what you get in Singapore, not to mention the stronger Aussie dollar
Actually, having cushioned seats on public transport is a bad idea. They’re more difficult to clean and all sorts of things get stuck on them, making for a really unhygienic arrangement. After a while they start to smell. I imagine it’ll be worse in our climate.
Most of the other countries’ modern public transport is also horridly expensive, save China. But look at China’s safety track record.
Kelvin Teo:
I would hesitate to say that the standard of living in Australia is higher. Did you mean cost of living? We don’t have minimum wage in Singapore, so what are you comparing Australia’s minimum wage to?
(If bne man is right about Australia’s fare being 3-5 times higher), the value of Australia’s currency isn’t 3-5 times ours, nor their median wage.
Actually Australia summer, especially in the North can get pretty bad. If you are talking about Queensland.
But there is no issue with smell.
Dear Humph:
THere was a typo. I meant to say “higher income standards” and “costs of living”.
A fresh grad engineer gets 5000K in Australia, and that is Aussie dollar. Singapore, it is usually 2.5 K.
If you factor in the Aussie currency strength, it is about 3x Singapore costs.