Trading in your car for cash?

Dear people in charge of land transport in Singapore,

Your plan to get people to start trading in their cars for cash and taking public transport sounds good in theory, but it probably won't fly. Yes, people are money-minded, but a car is more than money, it's more like a status symbol. But that's besides the point.

Personally, I think if people didn't care so much about status, the plan might work, but only if Singaporeans practiced better personal hygiene. I am sick of sharing buses and MRTs with people, mostly because they disgust me.

I am sick of having flakes of dandruff fall on my lap or on my notes while I'm on the bus because the person in front of me doesn't bother to wash his or her hair with a good anti-dandruff shampoo, or go see a doctor about the problem. I am sick of sitting beside aunties who clip their nails on the bus and flick it in whichever direction seems convenient (usually towards me). I am also sick of sitting beside ah peks who pick their noses and wipe them on the bottom of the bus seats or on the window ledges. I am sick of having people cough and sneeze without covering their mouths. What's even more disgusting is the number of times I've actually seen people spit on buses. I am sick of finally getting a seat on a TIBS bus only to find that it is soaked through with someone else's sweat. Finally, I am also sick of having to share my buses with cockroaches and smelly people.

These are just some of the grievences I have to air about public transport in Singapore. So until people decide to start bathing and keep all personal grooming within the confines of their own homes, I would prefer to keep my car, thank you.

Yours sincerely,
Me.

(This letter would probably work better if I did actually own a car.)