I REFER to the article "Bad manners make commuters see red" yesterday. As a frequent user of public transport, I am not surprised by the commuters' behaviour.

Several steps have been taken to curb such behaviour - giving out prizes to well-behaved passengers, having volunteers spread the courtesy message and having posters of local comedy TV characters Phua Chu Kang and wife Rosie in buses and trains to encourage graciousness.

Just how effective are these measures? Practically speaking, ungracious commuters will not turn into gracious ones overnight just because of the incentives. Yet, to impose punishments for every ungracious act seems excessive.

While there have been many pictures of commuters eating in buses or trains circulating on the Internet, one really wonders whether anybody ever gets fined for such inconsiderate behaviour. Are such fines enforced strictly?

As for other inconsiderate behaviour that do not warrant a fine, it is my opinion that spreading the courtesy message through volunteers is more effective than through posters. After all, the reason some commuters continue to behave the way they do could be because of silence from fellow commuters. Volunteers can change this.

Graciousness in a society cannot be cultivated merely by campaigns. Instead, educating children in schools on how to be gracious in a public setting will go a long way in making Singapore a more gracious society.

Lim Ruo Lin (Miss)

This article was first published in The Straits Times.