If you’ve recently unplugged your earphones for a bit during your daily commute, you may have heard the grooves of instrumental tunes tinkling through the speakers at MRT stations. Nope, it’s not someone’s Spotify insomnia playlist that accidentally got blasted out, but rather a new initiative by SMRT in a bid to “soothe” commuters. As if elevator music ever did anything for anyone.
According to The Straits Times, 43 stations have been playing these relaxing melodies since September for passengers during the morning and evening peak hours, as well as over lunch time. You’ll usually hear the songs near the entry and exit gantries to help, er, calm angry mobs during train breakdowns or aid with crowd control.
And there’s more: Expect to be serenaded at SMRT bus interchanges and more stations on the North-South, East-West, and Circle Lines in the next few months.
But as usual, with anything SMRT (or SBS Transit) attempts to do, the news didn’t go down well with netizens. Comments on social media berated the transport operator for missing the point: getting rid of train breakdowns forever.
Perhaps sometimes we just need some perspective, like what this netizen offered.
