Glittering example (From The Oxford Times)

Glittering example

8:10am Thursday 2nd February 2012 in Letters

Sir – On the subject of comparing the efficiencies of different railway systems, I had the privilege of spending the Christmas and new year periods in Singapore with friends and had the opportunity to enjoy the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system there.

This national railway system is a glittering example of efficiency, cleanliness, and value for money. Several days of unprecedented disruptions to this system in December 2011 resulted in a national outcry and the chief executive officer of the transport company responsible, Saw Phaik Hwa, was forced to resign.

While visiting friends in Coventry this weekend, having spent £28 to wait on a platform for a train which was an indeterminate number of hours late, possibly even cancelled, I found myself wishing that the public here were more empowered to demand better.

As a nation, we need to learn from the Asian mentality: pride in work (however menial) and low tolerance of avoidable inefficiency.

Daniel Emlyn-Jones, Oxford