I went car-less for 3 weeks recently. It was by choice. I had in the past went car-less but only for selected trips, for example into town to avoid hefty car park charges or crazy traffic (especially during exhibitions or fairs like IT or PC Shows.
So, this round it was a real simulation of no longer owning a car.
I used mainly buses to travel to SAFRA for my daily swims or into town to catch lunches with Geok or friends. Since classes have not started, those were my primary travel needs. Its home-SAFRA and vice versa; home-Bedok or Tampines (grocery shopping or Soka activities)
Ez-link card was my mode of payment. Though I had driven a private hire car for almost 7 months, the past three weeks I saw no need for using either Grab or Uber save once when I had to travel to pick up a parcel at night from Tampines to Upper East Coast.
My main peeve about public transport is primarily about crowds during peak hours. As my travels were mainly non-peak, they were pleasant enough. I have to however say that bus drivers do need more training on not being brake-happy. the swerving and hitting of brakes can cause a lot of discomfort for passengers, not to mention dangers of falling for the elderly or those with kids.
The other complaint is the condition of some buses. Some were wobbling and the engines sounded like they had been really overworked.
Reminded of my traveling days in the 70s on those non-aircon buses. Come on - Comfort Delgro - we are in the 21st century. If we are going to move large crowds around, we should make their journeys more pleasant or bearable, right?
Fortunately, I did not encounter any MRT breakdowns though there were many instances of these over the three weeks.
Personally, being car less had some inconveniences - I had to lug my swim bag and stuff around (made a mistake once of shopping for quite a few bags of groceries and the arm was hurting the next day).
Waiting time for buses can be also unpleasant in the hot weather but otherwise quite manageable using the MyTransport App. Of course my 'smell' karma does become quite pronounced during peak hours or on crowded services when fellow commuters with less hygienic habits share seats with me. We should seriously have a campaign on this.
Did I miss my car ? Yes, momentarily when I suddenly thought of going certain places and realized it was not with me. Would I go car-less permanently ? The jury is out on this. My Hyundai Avante has been very useful and somewhat sentimental to me I had used it for both Mum and Dad over the last 7 years.
I still remember bringing them to collect the car when it arrived in 2009. Some of my nephews and siblings have also used it over the course of its life. Its fully paid up and has a good 26 months more to the expiry of its COE. The running expenses are standard and I had also recently spent a bit to replace some really old parts and it feels quite new.
In my attempt to sell it on some online sites, I had met with the old tricks of dealers which make the experience less than pleasant. In the course of my working life, I had driven 7 different cars (bear in mind there were years when COE was non-existent as a policy or concept). For the time being, I would savour the experience of mobility and freedom with my car.
Now when I drive past buses or commuters walking towards MRT stations or even though hailing private hire cars - I can truly say - I know how you feel.
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