You know those priority seats on the MRT trains? They are meant for commuters who need a seat more than the able-bodied ones, be these pregnant women, old people or those with some physical disability. I have no doubt all regular MRT users by now know the purpose of these priority seats. So, here are three observations I made since the introduction of these seats.
The first observation is that people AVOID sitting on them altogether. This habit is usually seen at the terminal station. Commuters choose to stand when these priority seats are the only ones vacant.
The second observation is that a majority of able-bodied commuters who do take these priority seats often get away (I suspect intentionally) with giving up the seat by….falling sleeping!! Yes, I could have sworn they do this on purpose (what you don’t know won’t hurt you!).
My third observation centres around the commuters seated beside those on the priority seats. There had been many occasions when say, a pregnant woman enters the train. The commuter on the priority seat is asleep. But the two commuters immediately beside this sleeping commuter also refuse to give up their seats to the pregnant woman. I have come to the plausible conclusion that these commuters might be thinking that if the “rightful person” (that person sleeping in the priority seat) isn’t giving up the seat, why should they?
I hope I am wrong with my third observation but somehow, I think I am right.
Joe