Raw deal

The LTA just won't give up, would they? In its latest response to the many and varied complaints from the public, but locals and foreigners, about the ill-conceived stop-and-pickup-at-taxi-stands only policy concerning taxi services in the Central Business District (CBD) or downtown, it is just sticking to its guns and proposing to build more waiting lots (at the same number of taxi stands) and improve signages to guide people to these same taxi stands.

Granted, these will go some way in easing people's compliance with the new rules. But they do not address the problems that have been aired so far. Is the LTA serious about helping or hindering the wheels of business in the BUSINESS district? The problems highlighted by many have not been addressed at all. If the LTA still doesn't want to budge, may I suggest some solutions:

No.	The Problem	My Humble Solution
1	The Rain	Build covered walkways.
2	The Heat of the midday sun	Build covered walkways that link directly to every building. Alternatively, take a taxi only during the early morning or late late afternoon. Disadvantage: Commuters will have to pay Peak hour surcharges.
3	The spoilage of the pretty make-up of (mostly women) from the 'elements'.	Cover the covered walkways and air-condition them end-to-end.
4	Budget Hotels with no grand entrance (so taxis can stop or pick up passengers there).	Acquire the land, close the hotel and build a taxi stand over it.
5	The heavy luggage.	Build 2-way carousels under the covered walkways, from the buildings to the taxi stands.
6	First time visitors who may not be able to read nor understand our signs.	Tell them to take the next taxi to Changi Airport and come back when they can read English. There is no guarantee that the signs will be written in the 4 official languages of this island republic.
7	People who have no sense of directions.	Send them to the Institute of Mental Health to see a shrink who can straighten them out.
8	The handicapped and other physically challenged people.	Sorry, the CBD is for the able-bodied. The Singapore General Hospital is just down the road, though.

Why is it that I am beginning to feel that the LTA isn't a very business friendly, taxi friendly, visitor-friendly, handicapped-friendly, women-friendly and tourist-friendly organisation? And we thought that the people running these government agencies are civil servants! Well, civil they don't appear to be and servants they certainly are not!

Why don't they admit they have not cooked the broth sufficiently? Instead they propose to throw in more of the same stuff into the pot without cooking it properly again!


Image source: morgueFile.com. Author: Kevin Rossel