Lifestyle

9 Key Differences Between Taking the MRT Today & in the 90s That S’poreans Would Agree

2018-07-05 , 12:53 pm

Last Updated on 2023-06-08 , 2:19 pm

Remember the 90s? Days when there were no Grab, when there was not purple or yellow MRT line, when there were buses that had no air-con.

It was a relatively painful period without the use of technology, but let’s face it: There are still some things we miss about public transport in the 90s.

If you have lived through the 90s, you’ll understand these points. And you’ll miss them, even without the technology.

It was crowded, but not that crowded.

There’s a misconception that trains in the 90s weren’t crowded—nothing could be further than the truth. It was still crowded, but not as crazy as the trains today where you couldn’t even get into the first train during peak hours. In the 90s, as long as you know how to squeeze, you wouldn’t need to wait for a few trains before boarding one. There were still aunties that rushed for seats, but they move a tad slower because, well, it wasn’t that competitive.

You weren’t afraid of being Stomped

Sitting on a seat while wearing your Number 4? Having a lozenge because you’ve a sore throat? Or giving a quick kiss to your girlfriend before alighting? You’re a target of a Stomper if you do any of these now. In the 90s, you could just do anything you want. Someone wanted to quarrel? We did it face-to-face like a man. No one would take out a phone to film everything: they would be busy stopping the fight.

The number of breakdowns was lower

When the trains were new, the number of breakdowns was low. Now? Well, you know the answer. However, kudos to the authorities and organisations for recognizing this and taking measures to resolve these issues.

Breakdowns weren’t “common”

Nowadays, you even see a screen showing you whether the trains are operating “normal” or not, as if “normal” is not normal. In the past, once there was a breakdown, you can bet that you’d be seeing yourself in the newspaper or TV. It was so uncommon, one breakdown would cause many people to break down.

You chatted with your friends, or with strangers

When all you had then was yourself and your bag, you had nothing to do, so you either sleep or chat. That’s why you hear so many stories of adults saying that they fell in love with each other in the train then—now, you can only fall in love with a game. Or an app. Heck, some people would even resort to finding that chiobu online – even when that chiobu is sitting right in front of him every single freaking day.

Passengers were not always angry

Maybe it’s society causing stress to people nowadays, but in the past, everyone seemed carefree and relaxed. Someone cut my queue? Meh, just another day; let him or her cut lah. Nowadays, everyone seems to be in a rush, even during off-peak hours, turning every journey into a battle.

Kids used to play on the pole, and parents scolded them

It’s quite interesting to see kids jumping on the pole and their parents scolding, or even slapping, them in the train. Nowadays, when kids played on the pole, the parents would just let them disturb the passengers. If any passengers just showed a single trace of displeasure, the parents would scold the passenger and use the ultimate weapon: “He’s still young, why you scold him!?” Next, a phone would be out and it’ll be a filming match.

It was a great time to catch up on a book

Many of us used to read a book on the train, and if you have to commute via train every day, you could read two books in a week, and so we became smarter. Nowadays, people watched five episodes of Running Man in a week, and cleared all Netflix “backlogs”.

The Reserved Seat wasn’t that scary

Come on, admit it: You, too, are afraid of the Reserved Seat, right? In the 90s, it was just yet another seat. And everyone gave up their seat the moment they see an elderly or a pregnant woman…without having to post it on Facebook to tell the world what they’ve done (humble-bragging).

You can also watch this video on how a reserved seat sparked an argument:

So, what do you think? Do you prefer the rides in the past, or do you think that a journey without a smartphone is hell?