‘A breakdown in civic courtesy’: Stomper calls out entitlement, manspreaders, those who tsk and sigh on S’pore public transport
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Singapore is a first-world "urban marvel”, but our behaviour on public transport leaves much to be desired, said one Stomper.
Stomper David Pang said that despite boasting a world-class Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) network, our peak-hour commutes “routinely expose a distinct breakdown in civic courtesy”.
He shared: “Despite decades of government-led campaigns featuring characters like ‘Stand-Up Stacey’ and ‘Move-In Martin’, public transport etiquette remains a battleground of passive-aggressive friction, spatial ignorance, and a hyper-competitive sprint for individual comfort.”
A common gripe, according to him, is the “spatial obliviousness” of commuters.
Commuters who block doors, occupy more seats than they need and blast music
David said: “A foundational law of global transit, letting people exit before boarding, frequently fails at major interchanges like Jurong East and Serangoon, prompting frustrated commuters to drop standard pleasantries and physically barge through oncoming crowds.
“Once inside, ‘door guardians' anchor themselves at the exits for entire journeys, freezing the empty centre of the carriage and forcing everyone else to squeeze past.”
This “entitlement” begins long before boarding, noted David.
“At bus shelters, lines of standing commuters routinely form a human wall directly in front of the benches, blocking the view of seated passengers as if they were made of see-through glass,” said the Stomper, adding that elderly and less mobile commuters are left constantly craning their necks just to spot their bus.
Calling public transport etiquette a “failed discipline” in Singapore, David also described inconsiderate behaviours that he often observes on buses and trains.
“Inside the vehicles, digital noise pollution thrives, with passengers blasting short-form videos on full volume without headphones, while others operate high-pitched portable turbo fans that add a persistent background drone to the cabin,” he said.
“Meanwhile, manspreaders take over adjacent seating, commuters leave bags on empty chairs, and unremoved large backpacks strike unsuspecting passengers with every turn.”
Singaporean culture is part of the problem: Stomper
The Stomper feels that the phenomenon stems from “a transactional survivalist mindset born out of daily urban exhaustion, where hesitation means losing personal comfort”. It is a stark shift from what things were like in the 1970s through to the 1990s, he added.
David explained: “Decades ago, bus drivers acted as vocal enforcers, unhesitatingly shouting at crowds to move to the back (‘Gerak belakang!’)”. Commuters complied immediately, maximising the space.
“Today, a hyper-sensitive feedback culture has left public transport operators terrified of corporate complaints, forcing drivers to remain silent.
“Deprived of authority, passengers ignore empty rear spaces and upper decks, leaving bus captains to rely on automated announcements that are easily ignored, causing buses to bypass waiting passengers at subsequent stops.
“Because open confrontation is culturally avoided, Singaporeans rely heavily on a passive-aggressive ‘tsk' culture of glares and heavy sighs, allowing poor behaviour to continue unchecked.”
To counter this, Singapore has shifted from soft persuasion to legislative enforcement, said David.
Is enforcement enough to discourage bad behaviour?
Under Rapid Transit Systems regulations, persistent nuisance behaviour — such as sitting on the floor, seat hogging, or blasting loud music — carries a fine of up to $500.
More serious offences, such as soiling any part of the railway premises, carry a maximum penalty of $5,000.
“Public transport operators may also remove commuters who cause nuisance or activate the police for more egregious cases,” said the Land Transport Authority.
Similarly, bus captains can evict or call the police on disruptive passengers.
Those convicted of a public nuisance offence under the Penal Code may be fined up to $2,000 and/or jailed up to three months.
However, the Stomper pointed out that good behaviour on public transport is a shared responsibility that cannot be fixed just by imposing penalties.
“Ultimately, altering infrastructure by removing centre poles or painting platform arrows cannot fix a deeper cultural deficit,” said David, adding that relying on fines only reinforces the idea that bad behaviour is acceptable as long as enforcement officers are absent.
“Until the daily commute shifts from an individualistic survival race to a shared, conscious responsibility, Singapore’s transit will remain physically advanced but socially frustrating.”
David also feels that things have “undeniably gotten worse” in recent years.
“We have engineered a flawless, driverless transit system, yet we still haven’t figured out how to get human beings to step away from a doorway or look past their own screens,” he told Stomp on July 15.
“It’s a fascinating psychological gridlock where first-world architecture meets a bizarre, zero-sum survival instinct.
“We’ve traded basic neighbourly empathy for an every-man-for-himself scramble, resulting in a daily commute that feels less like a civilized journey and more like a passive-aggressive battle royale for personal space.”
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