Bus and Design, or lack of it

Frankly, I think the people who design product never use the product before!

Okay, probably some do, and maybe majority don't. I am sure you can think of many, but I will stick to only bus for this posting. Basically, the design of the bus stop and the bus. Look at the way the bus stop is layout. When one is seating down in at a bus stop, should someone comes over and stand in front of you, you can't see any bus coming. And the tendency is for people to be crowding in front of the people who are seating. Such is the design of the bus stop. One can only see the bus if one stands up, or the bus is right in front of you. And the route guide, it is always at the back of a seat, such that if someone is seating, you will be like trying to see through that person in order to read the guide. One surely will get dirty look by others if that person seating is a pretty lady in low cut blouse. Whether one intention is the lady or the guide behind her!

And as for the bus, especially the new bus, why have a more spacious standing room in the front portion of the bus, when it is required for passengers to move to the rear in order to make room for incoming passengers? Logically, people will crowded round a place where the room is more spacious. Look at the old bus design, you often find people standing near the exit as it is more roomy. The designer should have the standing room portion at the back, then you have an excuse for telling them to move to the rear. And for that matter, have the exit door closer to the rear. You will find people more willing to move back. Haven't anyone learn that by now?

Another thing is the ezlink contact point. The one at the front is allowing entrance and exit. It is fine if the bus is crowded, making it hard to sqeeze to the exit behind, but if it is not crowded, it should be switch to entry only. Then it will not slow down those who are boarding the bus. It is silly when the people is coming down the bus at the front, preventing people from boarding, while the exit door has nobody going down. Sheesh! This is stupid! If I am not mistaken, when the bus company first introduce ezlink, there wasn't a dual entry/exit at the front, so people can board and deboard the bus faster. Only when they realised that people took too long to move to the exit at the rear that they started the dual mode at the front. In the first place, if the bus was designed better, there was no need to introduce dual mode tap point.

I have always felt that one should be able to get a seat when one board a bus. It isn't fair that a standing passenger has to pay the same fare as a person sitting. When one goes for a event performance, one pays differently for seating, or standing when there is one. It is no wonder that people don't want to stand when seeing older folk, children or pregnant ladies. Their mindset probably says why should they stand when they pay for their seats. This and probably other reasons add up to their unwillingness to give up their seats.

I don't want to mention the MRT, I don't like MRT and will avoid them if possible even if it is a faster mode to travel. Why? Because the chances of not getting a seat is very very high. Now there is an annoucement to reduce seats further for the less able-bodied. Will it work? I don't know. I hope it will, though I fear that people will now hold on to their seats more. Even rushing for the few seats available.

I don't mind giving up my seat if those in need of it approaches, but it is unlikely they will as I am usually at the back of the bus on the crowded bus. I will make an effort to move behind. It irks me seeing so much space behind while the front is so jam-packed. But all these will be unnecessary if people thinks of others, that what if they were in that position?

And all these will not be necessary, if the people designing the bus has thoroughly thought of it in the first place!