Man advocates for ‘universal priority seating’ to encourage ‘communal care’ on MRT

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Following a pregnant commuter’s disappointment at not being offered a seat on the train, one man has suggested a more “fundamental shift” in public transport campaigns.

While he agrees that the current system of fixed priority seats are well-intentioned, Stomper Henry believes this “inadvertently creates a psychological bystander effect”.

Citing the pregnant commuter’s experience, Henry said what bothered him was not just younger, able-bodied commuters refusing to give up priority seats, but passengers on other “non-priority” seats also not doing the same.

“By labeling specific seats, we signal that all other seats are exempt from the expectations of basic civic courtesy,” said Henry, who is in his 50s.

In his view, this leads to able-bodied passengers remaining glued to their devices, “secure in the knowledge that they are not seated beneath a priority sticker”.

The Stomper recalled an incident in which a seemingly able-bodied man on a priority seat was engrossed with his phone and did not give up his seat to an elderly commuter in front of him. Henry beckoned the elderly man to take his “non-priority seat”.

“I’m not sure why he was not offered a seat by those who were closer to him. Perhaps he looked too ‘strong’ to qualify as a person who needed the seat more?” questioned the Stomper.

Every seat should be a priority seat

Henry suggested a paradigm shift: treating every seat as a priority seat.

This would transform the entire train carriage into a “space of communal care”, where every commuter can proactively assess the needs of those around them, including those who may have invisible disabilities.

“By removing specific labels, we eliminate the excuse for indifference,” the Stomper said.

“It shifts the internal dialogue from ‘I am entitled to this seat’ to ‘Does someone else require this more than I do?’”

Henry observed a tendency to “size people up” before deeming them worthy of a priority seat. With his proposal for universal priority seating, Henry believes this mindset will change.

“We should simply offer our seat to any elderly person just because we respect our seniors, or to a pregnant woman because we are concerned for her safety,” he explained.

“If we remove the priority stickers, we are now getting everyone on the other non- priority seats to think of whether they can — and not should — give up their seats to others,” he added.

“At the end of the day, we cannot compel those who still want to keep their seats to give them up for others. Only compassion for others can move them to do so,” noted Henry.

Relooking current public transport campaigns

Henry believes there is a need to review the success of current public transport campaigns, namely the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) The Thoughtful Bunch initiative.

The Thoughtful Bunch is a group of five mascots calling for more gracious behaviour on public transport: Hush-Hush Hannah, Move-In Martin, Stand-Up Stacey, Bag-Down Benny and Give-Way Glenda.

Henry suggested: “I think there should be just one Gracious Mascot to make it a more focused campaign. Like PUB’’s Water Wally.”

Building a more caring and inclusive commuting culture, said Henry, should be a whole-of-society effort involving schools, organisations that work with people with physical and mental health conditions, and the media.

“We may need celebrities to take public transport and be ambassadors for LTA campaigns!” he added.

While a shift in public mentality requires time, Henry ultimately remains optimistic that such a transition is eventually possible — if we begin now.

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