Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Masters of The Tap
Ever since school started, my status as full time driver was suddenly reduced to part time, thanks to the wise guy who proposed for a campus in the city and totally forgot about the increased cost accompanying such a move. Now, I got to wake up an hour earlier to catch the train (a seemingly familiar yet foreign experience). Anyway, I belonged to the transitlink card era and the ez-link was a totally new experience for me. And I do admit the first few times were a little embarrassing as I struggled to find the best way to tap my card properly without being identified as a newbie.
So today, I was taking a feeder service back home and happened to take a seat near the card reader at the rear exit door of the bus. Then, I finally realize the true masters of the EZlink. There were four of them throughout the entire journey. They boarded the bus and tapped their card as usual at the entrance. And as they walked passed the exit door, in one fluid motion, so fast that you probably wouldn’t catch it if you blinked, they gave a small swing of the arm towards the exit door and then straight into the bags/wallets. Then, a moment later, you hear a ‘beep’ from the card reader. Before you know it, they proceeded like ordinary passengers searching for a vacant seat. A master, truly.
So that’s how bus companies lost millions of dollars. But they have devised a way to counter this problem. When the exit door closes, the card reader immediately turns inactive and no tappings will be registered. Some of the lower skilled apprentices tried it and were visibly disappointed when they failed. Only the true masters were able to pull off this stunt and let bus companies bite the dust.
I will probably never be able to become a master since I’m taking a course on Ethics in school now and I will probably be deeply impacted and traumatized if I had done something like that. In addition, I think I have passed my prime to learn this trade because, believe it or not, the youngest master was no more than 12 years old as he donned a familiar neighbourhood school uniform and bore a striking resemblance to 5566’s Meng Ze. His pot belly was so huge that the huge scool bag on his back was necessary to help him find his equilibrium and stand firmly on the moving bus. (I don’t mean to be crude, but it’s really true, believe me, I’m taking ethics now, I can’t lie…) Yet, his cute face made up for all the excess baggage on him.
Well, I guess these masters will continue to ply their trade in these loopholes of our ezlink system. So until the bus companies find a better way to resolve this, hail the masters!
So today, I was taking a feeder service back home and happened to take a seat near the card reader at the rear exit door of the bus. Then, I finally realize the true masters of the EZlink. There were four of them throughout the entire journey. They boarded the bus and tapped their card as usual at the entrance. And as they walked passed the exit door, in one fluid motion, so fast that you probably wouldn’t catch it if you blinked, they gave a small swing of the arm towards the exit door and then straight into the bags/wallets. Then, a moment later, you hear a ‘beep’ from the card reader. Before you know it, they proceeded like ordinary passengers searching for a vacant seat. A master, truly.
So that’s how bus companies lost millions of dollars. But they have devised a way to counter this problem. When the exit door closes, the card reader immediately turns inactive and no tappings will be registered. Some of the lower skilled apprentices tried it and were visibly disappointed when they failed. Only the true masters were able to pull off this stunt and let bus companies bite the dust.
I will probably never be able to become a master since I’m taking a course on Ethics in school now and I will probably be deeply impacted and traumatized if I had done something like that. In addition, I think I have passed my prime to learn this trade because, believe it or not, the youngest master was no more than 12 years old as he donned a familiar neighbourhood school uniform and bore a striking resemblance to 5566’s Meng Ze. His pot belly was so huge that the huge scool bag on his back was necessary to help him find his equilibrium and stand firmly on the moving bus. (I don’t mean to be crude, but it’s really true, believe me, I’m taking ethics now, I can’t lie…) Yet, his cute face made up for all the excess baggage on him.
Well, I guess these masters will continue to ply their trade in these loopholes of our ezlink system. So until the bus companies find a better way to resolve this, hail the masters!
# posted by Dao : 11:07 pm
