"Sorry the next train will be busy too, take the next one"

Australia is listed to be a first world country and it was based on relative wealth in term of GDP and social-political factors. A "first-world" should have large industrialisation and democracy. (MacDonald,Theodore (2005) If we are going to compare based on industrialisation, Thailand should be a first world then, but its not. Anyways, more on that in the future.

How are we "first" when we have ONE OF THE worst transport system. A report form Arcadis, a design and consulting firm, found not only is Australia behind the alphas (London, New York, Paris) but also India and Africa.

A little back story, I was in Malaysia for 3 months back in November for work. Over there, they have public transport running almost back to back, especially during peak hours. Trains were at max 3 minutes apart, buses going to different places came like a conveyor belt. As a bonus, you even get a clean station and train because people are not allowed to have food and drinks on the premises.

Here in Australia on the other hand, writing this post as trains are delayed due to "quality issues" on the train, and, the next train would be in 11 minutes. It's extremely frustrating.

"The express train on Platform 2 would be very busy too, please take the next one." And that announcement just triggered me on another level. Even when we have the option of an "express", we don't have the option of an "express".

I was speaking to someone about it and she said that she would leave early to catch the right bus in order to catch that one and only 8.17 limited express train to work. She starts work at 9 and is delayed due to the outdated system in a major city, in a first-world country. 

This is costing us productivity, efficiency and unnecessary stress. Yes the "not-so-advanced" countries  maybe not have the best living conditions or welfare system, but at least they are progressing in infrastructure and striving to better the lives of their citizens. We on the other hand, are getting complacent. The ability to be on time to work or wherever should not be based on how "lucky" we are.