LEFT DANGLING: Even if you're tall enough to sit comfortably on the
bum rest, you have to dig your heel in to prevent yourself from
sliding off. If you're shorter, well, you can jump on and swing
your legs as these models demonstrate at Dhoby Ghaut station. -- ST
PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
SMRT has lowered the bum rests at some stations, but most
commuters still keep sliding off them
By Adeline Chia
IT'S a slippery business. When new bum rests were installed in
seven high-traffic MRT stations in March to provide more respite
for footsore commuters, many did not find themselves resting
comfortably.
For a start, most were unable to reach the 70.5cm-tall rests
without going on tiptoe.
And even when they made it up, they found themselves sliding off
the sloped, stainless-steel seats.
Blog entries by distressed commuters appeared, and an article in
The New Paper in April reported complaints that the rests were too
high and too slippery.
Transport operator SMRT, which runs the North-South and East-West
lines, also received about 90 calls and e-mail messages on the
matter.
In May and June, it decided to remove the 150 bum rests from the
seven stations - City Hall, Dhoby Ghaut, Lavender, Orchard, Raffles
Place, Somerset and Tanjong Pagar.
These were taken to a contractor's factory to be shortened to
62.5cm - a supposedly more manageable height for commuters to plant
their bottoms - and then re-installed.
But the bad news: Version 2.0 of the seats, which are now of bar
stool-height, continues to leave some people high and dry.
Thirteen of the 15 commuters LifeStyle approached at lunchtime at
Dhoby Ghaut station last Tuesday said the seats were still
ergonomically unsatisfactory.
Accountant Yeo Boon Chye, 47, who is about 1.76m tall, said: 'This
is a safety hazard. I keep slipping off, it's not fit for
sitting.'
Mr Jeremy Lee, 29, a database administrator on holiday from New
Zealand, who is about 1.7m tall, said: 'The seats are biased
towards tall people.'
He had to dig his feet into the ground to prevent himself from
sliding off. He quipped: 'But I think I will get calf muscles
sitting on it. It's a good workout.'
Even taller commuters were having a hard time. Said Ngee Ann
Polytechnic student Sean Tan, 20, who is 1.92m tall: 'It really
depends on what kind of pants I'm wearing and the material. It's
not so bad if it's denim, but for board shorts, I'm still sliding
forward. You definitely can't sleep on these things.'
Ms Rizalinah Rosli, 29, an auxiliary policewoman, has found an
alternative use for the seat. 'I use it to place my bag since I
cannot sit on it without falling off.'
Only two of the 15 approved of the upgraded bum rests.
Events organiser Marc How, 31, said: 'I'm not complaining because
it is at least some kind of support. Singaporeans are just never
happy.'
A retiree, 66, who wanted to be known only as Mr Eng, also looked
on the bright side and noted that the bum rests were 'better than
nothing'.
'I'm old. I can't stand for too long. As long as it can take my
body weight, it's okay.'
An SMRT spokesman said the structures are intended to be bum rests
and not seats.
The slim structures, installed close to the wall, maximise seating
capacity in crowded stations because more benches or seats would
cause a human traffic jam.
He said: 'Unlike seats, bum rests are meant to be leaned on and
designed to support the contours of a leaning body
comfortably.'
The rests were designed 'internally in consultation with an
external designer'.
He declined to give the name of the designer and the cost.
He added that SMRT has also received feedback about the slippery
surface and is considering moves like adding an anti-slip
surface.
As for changing the height of the bum rests, the spokesman said:
'We have not received adverse feedback on the height of the bum
rests since it was reduced. We will monitor passengers' feedback
closely.'
Designers tell LifeStyle that the bum rests can be improved.
Mr Marcus Chiang, 28, founder of home decor store Designed In
Singapore, suggested that SMRT make the sloping seats curve up
slightly at the end to prevent people from slipping off them.
Mr Nathan Yong, 36, design director of local furniture design store
Air Division, said the bum rests should be lowered to about 43cm to
45cm, the height of a regular chair.
'At 60cm, it's the height of a bar stool. But bar stools have
footrests for support. Right now, commuters half-stand, half-lean
on the bum rests. You need to be a gymnast to sit on it.'
He added: 'If that's the case, then they might as well do away with
the bum rests and let people lean against the wall.'
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Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.
Taken from: http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_162532.html
