An introduction to the "unspoken" rules on the SG MRT

Ok as promised, here goes!

I am sick of PEOPLE who obviously knows the “unspoken” rules of taking the MRT in Singapore but purposely ignore it. And because I take a lot of the trains in the North-East Line which passes by Little India and Farrer Park where a larger proportion of the foreign indian workers populate, I get even more people who act like they don’t know they are “snatching” my seat!

Not only indians ok! All races!! Chinese aunties especially!! BTH! Ok let’s begin already!

ACTUALLY, THERE IS ONLY ONE SIMPLE RULE – DO NOT TAKE A SEAT THAT IS NOT YOURS!

Here comes the catch: Defining what’s yours and communicating it CLEARLY to idiots is the problem!

Here’s how we solve it.

We first need, a “blackboard”. Ok, here’s one. I will be referring everything to this all encompassing situational “blackboard”. Note: It comes with a good mix of races too. :P

#1: Clearly define your “territory”

People discussed: Simon, Ariel and Arin
Seat in question: A, B and D

With reference to the above diagram (this is a typical crowded MRT scene), theoretically, Simon, Ariel and Arin are the ONLY ONES in this situation who owns the seat A, B and D respectively.

Simple reason! They are standing in front of the seat!

SO, MARK your territory CRYSTAL CLEAR by standing directly in front of the seat you believe will be empty soon – stand your both feet further apart, put on weight to achieve greater physical advantage, fold your arms to take up more space, what have you.

I? I place my feet at an angle such that the other person beside me will find themselves uncomfortable in my ZONE if they come any nearer than I want them to. See below.

All of the three will work very well.

Blue Feet Tactic #1 = Feet wider apart
Pink Feet Tactic #2 = Strategically angled feet (keyword here is STRATEGICALLY)
Green Feet Tactic #3 = Ah, you know a master when you see their feet this way AND you have no way of putting your feet any where strategically near.

Green Feet Tactic can only be successfully communicated by the highly skilled aka the likes of me. You use one feet to book one seat and the other, the other seat and be sure to look like you are already as close to the center of the cabin as possible (well, so you won’t attract dirty looks by passengers near the door who don’t have enough breathing space to stand!). Be smart, crafty and considerate!

#2: Poorly marked “territories” aka OPPOTUNITIES

Back to the diagram.

People discussed: Pete and June
Seat in question: C

Look at Pete and June. The position they are standing in (by choice or not), will mean they are both contenders to Seat C. In Singapore MRT, everybody is genderless. Don’t think just because Pete is a male, he will let June sit. No possible way. In such a situation, there can only be 2 “sub”situations.

a) if it’s not very crowded, the person who got there first has rights to the seat. This doesn’t always ring true because a LOT of people are very likely to conveniently disregard it.

So, we come to the second “sub”situation.

b) if it’s very crowded, the direction to which the person in Seat C stands up will determine whether the seat belongs to Pete or June.

Before I further illustrate this point, note that point a and b above is VERY IMPT and will apply in almost ALL SITUATIONS IN THAT MANNER.

There you go. The red arrow depicts movement of person in seat C.

MOVE TO RIGHT = seat belongs to PETE (BLUE). MOVE TO LEFT = seat belongs to JUNE (PINK).

The reasoning behind this is quite simple. If you imagine yourself to be the person at seat C, standing up and getting out to the left would effectively BLOCK Pete, and then June will have an opening (and opportunity) to sit.

Do you know what kind of an opportunity it poses for the person at seat C? YES! You get to choose who you want to give the seat to! Subtly but surely! :D To be double sure, extend your duration of blockage by pretending to steady yourself or something. SURE TO SUCCEED!

#3: Teaching Noobs

People discussed: Jaya and Dev
Seat in question: H

Jaya is a noob. Either that or she doesn’t care whether she gets a seat. Either way, Dev will get Seat H (and possibly Seat G since he deploying the “one feet, one seat” tactic but we touch on that later).

Why is this portion called teaching the noob? Well, even though Jaya is technically occupying most of the “frontal view” of Seat H, the seat belongs to Dev because 1) he is nearer, 2) people standing in the “row” Jaya is standing in generally don’t get seats.

So like I said, either a noob or doesn’t care. Either way, Dev gets the prize!

… to be continued tomorrow! Stay tuned!

P.s.: Wah blogging this is exhausting wei!