Social strata of commuters in Singapore and Melbourne

It’s amazing how commuting on the road says so much of the city dwellers – their aspirations and grievances, their social behaviour and value judgements.

I’m struck by how far the (use of) public transport system and infrastructure reflect the social strata in Singaopore and Melbourne. 

In a talk show on road bullies on Channel U last week, participants in the panel allude to the ‘size syndrome’ on the roads in Singapore – how bigger cars tend to edge out the smaller ones and how two wheelers are marginalised on the road.  

The only possible exception to this ‘norm’ is perhaps in Pasir Ris – the so-called ‘Little China’ – where the dominant presence of a cyclist population resulted in a ‘re-engineering’ of the pedestrian pavements (into two separate lanes for the pedestrians and the cyclists) to reduce any probablity of accidents.  But again, it’s interesting to note how the two wheeled bicycle is considered a road hazard rather than an environmentally friendly form of (tran)sport to be encouraged amongst the population. 

Now, I’ve been biking for more than a year in Melbourne.  And I must say the experience is vastly different than that in Singapore.  In Melbourne, there are designated lanes – not on the pedestrian pavements but on most of the main roads – for cyclists.  There is a vast difference in this respect, as to how the cyclists are considered vis-a-vis the other road users in Melbourne and Singapore.  It’s interesting to note how cyclists are perhaps considered on par with the pedestrians rather than the other motorists in Singapore.  

This difference is magnified if we consider how the two-wheelers are considered (by other road users) in Melbourne and Singapore.

In the same talk show on Channel U for instance, there were comments passed on how two-wheelers often caused road hazards in Singapore when they chose to ride along the far left or right rather than centre of the lanes.  If we take into consideration the difference in the infrastructure between Singapore and Melbourne, ain’t it clear how this issue would have been resolved if there’s room catered for the two-wheelers on the road? 

Why then is there a lack of consideration for the two-wheelers on the road, be it among the authorities or the civil society?  Perhaps a worthwhile comment in the same talk show will shed some light on the plight of the two-wheelers.  Indeed, in a society where people are judged by their external trappings – in this case, their car they drive – is it any wonder how larger car owners tend to behave as what one of the participant mentioned, as if they ‘own’ the road?

And therein lies a fundamental difference between Melbourne and Singapore.  If Melbourne is considered to be a city that sympathizes with the underdogs, Singapore is a city(-state) that celebrates high fliers.  

On the same note, some may argue the syndrome in Singapore is far from unique.  I’ve certainly heard of similar encounters in Sydney.  So, I wonder how the drive for economic progress or material wants may indeed come at the expense of a revaulation of humanity.