Recently, our country transport system converted to charging by how far you travel. I believe this system uses the location indicators (installed island-wide) or GPS to locate where you board the transport (bus) and where you alight by transferring the information (1) from the "entry" device to your card and (2) from your card to the "exit" device and (3) your card stored valued will be deducted for the trip you have taken. All these are done by computer system.
As Murphy Law says, "If something can go wrong, it will." ...computer system included!
I discovered one instance of overcharging by the system when I did a check on one of the trips travelled.
What I believe is that during the (1) stage, the "entry" device went crazy and informed the (2) stage that I board the bus from "Jurong East" which is much further then the right place/location I boarded. This of course had a wrong deduction on my card stored valued.
Now come to the topic of a "graceful society" - we still have some more distance to go.
With the discovery of the above, I done the following:
a) Went to a ticket office to provide the feedback. The officer just recorded my feedback and issued me a chit.
b) A few days later at the transport headoffice, they did the review and confirm the particulars with me through the phone. The officer still have not decided whether my feedback is valid or not. No word of confirmation or say sorry that they have overcharged - really so difficult to check or they are afraid to commit at that moment.
c) Next, a few days later again, I receive an sms to say they have overcharged and I can get my refund for the overcharged amount from any ticket office. Still the word "sorry" is not in the sms text message.
I wonder whether TransLink Public Relation Office is aware of all these ground level happenings?
Showing posts with label Uniquely Spore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Uniquely Spore. Show all posts
Friday, August 27, 2010
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Uniquely Singapore - Littering at Letter Boxes Area
May 9th, 2007
In emails, we have spam mails (electronic junk mails). In printed form, we have flyers, unsolicited commercial messages, etc put inside our letter boxes.
Most of us in Singapore stay in flats purchased from HDB (our housing authority). Consider one living in a 5-room HDB flat with 25 storeys. This block will have 96 families under one roof. If each family receives an average of 5 flyers per day, then the letter boxes will have 480 flyers. Assuming half of the tenants open their letter boxes each day, they will have taken out 240 flyers.
What happen to the flyers? Most will just throw them indiscrimately on the floor. Some civic-minded persons will walk a short distance and throw them in the rubbish bin nearby.
To solve the problem of littering at letter boxes area, the estate management of HDB come up with an unique idea of constructing a containment directly below the letter boxes. Functionally it is effective in controlling this problem of littering, but the authority is sending out a wrong message to those that litters ... it is OK to throw litter and let others (the cleaners) to pick up the pieces.
Most of us in Singapore stay in flats purchased from HDB (our housing authority). Consider one living in a 5-room HDB flat with 25 storeys. This block will have 96 families under one roof. If each family receives an average of 5 flyers per day, then the letter boxes will have 480 flyers. Assuming half of the tenants open their letter boxes each day, they will have taken out 240 flyers.
What happen to the flyers? Most will just throw them indiscrimately on the floor. Some civic-minded persons will walk a short distance and throw them in the rubbish bin nearby.
To solve the problem of littering at letter boxes area, the estate management of HDB come up with an unique idea of constructing a containment directly below the letter boxes. Functionally it is effective in controlling this problem of littering, but the authority is sending out a wrong message to those that litters ... it is OK to throw litter and let others (the cleaners) to pick up the pieces.
Uniquely Singapore - Helping the Environment
April 18th, 2007
Starting from 18th April 2007 and every 1st Wednesday of the Month, you have to bring your own shopping bags to do your supermarket shopping. If not, you have to "donate" ten cents, to the environment fund, per plastic bag used to contain your groceries. Alternatively, you can purchase a recycled shopping bag costing about $1 each.
In most Singapore households, especially in HDB flats, our kitchen sinks are not equipped with Food Waste Disposers. We normally "recycled" all our plastic bags obtained from the supermarket to contain all the kitchen waste that cannot go down the sewer system. Plastic bags are most suitable to contain all unwanted kitchen waste, before throwing down the verticle chute or place in the dustbins outside our house.
Hope this small step will encourage us to do more for our environment and change the mindset of those who are still not happy with this scheme by our NEA.
In most Singapore households, especially in HDB flats, our kitchen sinks are not equipped with Food Waste Disposers. We normally "recycled" all our plastic bags obtained from the supermarket to contain all the kitchen waste that cannot go down the sewer system. Plastic bags are most suitable to contain all unwanted kitchen waste, before throwing down the verticle chute or place in the dustbins outside our house.
Hope this small step will encourage us to do more for our environment and change the mindset of those who are still not happy with this scheme by our NEA.
Uniquely Singapore - Social Grace
April 18th, 2007
With a notice posted inside the lift cubicle, it's a message to tell the would-be culprit that we mean business, but this also tell our visitors that this housing neighbourhood has a social problem, i.e. someone (children and/or adults) is using the lift as a toilet! The message projects a wrong attitude to the would be offender. He is not doing the anti-social habit not because it is wrong to do it, but because he is afraid of being caught by the authority.
How to reduce the occurrence of such unacceptable social behaviour? I believe good social habits start at home - during the early stage of child development we called it toilet training. The next stage is in the play centers and finally it must be reinforced in schools. Down the process of living & learning, something must have gone wrong with a small number of people staying in housing estates (HDB) that have this kind of "urine in lift" problem. These people causing the problem does not know peeing in the lift is wrong. For those of us who have experienced intense need of a public toilet, occasionally, we definitely know the true meaning of "relieve" after the job is done in a proper environment - and definitely not in a public lift!
How to reduce the occurrence of such unacceptable social behaviour? I believe good social habits start at home - during the early stage of child development we called it toilet training. The next stage is in the play centers and finally it must be reinforced in schools. Down the process of living & learning, something must have gone wrong with a small number of people staying in housing estates (HDB) that have this kind of "urine in lift" problem. These people causing the problem does not know peeing in the lift is wrong. For those of us who have experienced intense need of a public toilet, occasionally, we definitely know the true meaning of "relieve" after the job is done in a proper environment - and definitely not in a public lift!
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