On one the
afternoons, we took the public bus from a shopping mall in order to get to my
sister’s apartment. The London’s bus transport system is similar to the Ez-link
card system in Singapore. The bus was travelling and subsequently pulled over
at a bus stop for passengers to board and alight. People were tapping their
cards while they were boarding and disembarking. Suddenly, something out of the
ordinary caught my attention. A grown man had just boarded the bus via the rear
door without tapping his card! It was as though he was an NUS student taking
the school’s internal shuttle bus! I was expecting a response from either the
bus captain or the passengers, but surprisingly, all of them had no reaction. It
was as if his actions were normal! If he were to do that in Singapore, he
would definitely be stopped by the bus captain or receive alarmed expressions
from the passengers!
Being puzzled
by his actions, I asked my sister who has been working in London regarding this
bizarre scenario. She explained that
such cases were a common sight and has already become a social norm.
Actually,
even till now I am still not very sure why such an act is acceptable in a
developed nation like London. So guys, it would be great if any of you know why
and feel free to give me your opinions on this!
