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SINGAPORE: It has been three months since train operator SMRT stepped up checks on commuters eating and drinking on trains, and the numbers caught each month have fallen dramatically.
From a high of 721 offenders caught in the first month - exceeding the total of 595 caught for the whole of last year - the figure fell to 183 in the second month. In the third month of the crackdown, just 96 were handed Notification of Offence (NOO) slips by train officers.
From July 15, SMRT had beefed up the enforcement of its longstanding rule on no-eating and no-drinking on trains by increasing staff patrols during off-peak hours. It had also said the measures would remain in place until there was a "sharp reduction" in offenders.
A spokesperson said: "We are happy to note the sharp decline in NOOs issued (after the first month), which we believe is a result of greater awareness of the rule."
But is it a case of the message getting across swiftly, or of stricter enforcement fizzling out after an initial blitz?
The spokesman said the number of checks by staff has been "constant". As for whether the latest numbers were low enough for SMRT to consider easing up on patrols, the spokesperson would only say: "We will continue with enforcement efforts and monitor the situation closely."
Commuters said they had noticed fewer people eating on trains, although some bad behaviour persists.
Executive assistant Chen Yan Bin, 23, attributed the drop to the news of enhanced enforcement and commuters ratting on offenders. But she has seen "aunties taking a whole packet of nuts, cracking them and eating them on the train".
Administrative assistant Mas said weekly sightings of people blatantly eating were the norm previously. "These days, there are fewer of them, and most are just popping a mint or sipping water", said the 36-year-old, who takes the train on weekdays between Admiralty and Outram Park.
While she supports the SMRT's measures, Ms Mas suggested that an SMS service be set up to allow commuters to be the eyes of the operator on board the trains.
"Signs with the text number could be put up, and commuters can then tell SMRT which station and which carriage the offender is at," she said.
- TODAY/yb
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