Problem 10

Problem 10

Physical Health

The future scene states that information is streamed continuously to the car to provide advice on the best route to her destination. Roadside furniture like traffic signals and road signs are also giving advice to her car for safe and efficient travel. The roadside technology giving data to the cars might have the connection disrupted or the systems could be physically damaged. This could be problematic as accidents may happen due to incomplete or inaccurate data.

Problem 9

Social Relationships

The future scene states that through her smart device, she is able to time her arrival at MRT stations and bus stops to minimize waiting time. When public transport apps are to breakdown in the future where people rely a lot on them to get around the jams, it may cause a massive jam that will inconvenience many. Such over-reliance on the app is a huge problem and should be corrected quickly.

Research

1. According to TODAYSMRT trains had a string of breakdowns in one week and this caused one incident alone caused around 19,000 to be stranded. Many commuters were unhappy about the disruptions. Thus we can see that if the system improve further, and when the system somehow breaks down, there will be massive inconvenience due to the reliance on these information

Sources

1.  JIANYUE, X. (2014, January 21). 19,000 stranded by third train delay in a week. Retrieved June 4, 2015, from http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/19000-stranded-third-train-delay-week  

Problem 8

Problem 8

Environmental Problem

The future scene states that there will be a car sharing scheme in the future where people will share cars.This might be problematic as the people using the car may be inconsiderate and throw litter all over the car. These litter include tissue paper, cigarette and possibly food wrappers. These items are unhygienic even if not used for a second time, especially tissue paper which may contain the previous user’s infected mucus or saliva which might be contagious.

Research:

1. According to the Straits Times, Singaporeans litter because they know that the cleaners will eventually come and clean up the mess. Moreover, it is also very rare for one to get caught littering in Singapore due to the lack of patrol officers in the districts, thus, many of us do not care if we litter because we have never been caught before.
2. NEA reports should that the number of fines given for litter doubled from that of 2013. This proves that litter in the car may be inevitable.

Sources:

1. As we can see from the NEA report on Channel Newsasia, the number of summonses given for litter doubled that of 2013 last year. This proves that litter in the car may be inevitable.
2. Sam Boh (2015, 10 Feb) Why is littering still a problem in Singapore? Retrieved March 29, from http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/environment/story/why-littering-still-problem-singapore-20150210
3. Kimberly Spykerman (2015, 1 Feb) More summonses for littering issues in 2014: NEA. Retrieved March 29, from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/more-summonses-for/1630408.html

Problem 7

Problem 7

Economics

The future scene states again that MRTs and buses will have intelligence systems installed in them to provide more user information. With the installation of such advanced facilities put in place, the fare might go up and could cause public outrage, as most people may deem this information useless because they are familiar with the place they go to often, which may severely affect the working adults who work quite a distance from home.

Research

1. The current annual increase in public transport last year was 2.8% and the public was already very unhappy with this because of the increase of just 2-5℄ per trip.

Sources:

Sha A. (2015, 22 January) Public transport fares up 2.8% by April 2015, public unhappy with Minister. Retrieved March 30, from http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2015/01/public-transport-fares-up-2-8-by-april-2015-public-unhappy-with-minister/

Problem 6

Problem 6

Defence

The future scene states that the car seamlessly takes over control from the driver. This might be problematic as the car might not actually require a person inside the car after has been set to go somewhere. This might be exploited by terrorists to bomb areas without revealing their identity, which would cause country-wide panic and deaths.

Research:

1. The FBI has warned about the dangers of how driverless cars can be turned into self-driving bombs and would also allow criminals to make getaways faster.

Sources: 

Harris M. (2014, 16 July) FBI warns that driverless cars could be used as “lethal weapons”. Retrieved March 29, from http://www.theguardiano.com/technology/2014/jul/16/google-fbi-driverless-cars-leathal-weapons-autonomous

Problem 5

Problem 5

Economics

The future scene states that you will not be required to own your own car as long as you are willing to subscribe to the car sharing scheme. This suggests that the demand for taxis might drop drastically as this car sharing scheme is far more convenient than waiting/calling for a taxi. Thus, taxi drivers might lose their jobs and Singapore may have higher unemployment rates.

Research

1. As of January 2015, the total taxi fleet in Singapore is 28,515 taxis, operated by six taxi companies and 180 independent drivers.

Sources:

Wikipedia (2015, 21 March) Taxicabs of Singapore. Retrieved March 29, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxicabs_of_Singapore

Problem 4

Problem 4

Miscellaneous (Landuse Problem)

The future scene states that the intelligent car sharing system causes cars to be parked at many different locations over the country. This sharing system may need more space to be used. This will cause land to be wasted especially in such a small country like Singapore. Less land will be available for other usage such as commercial buildings to efficiently use the land and not waste it on parking lots.

Research

1. The Ministry of National Development (MND) has stated that 12% of Singapore’s land has already been used up on roads, and the only expansions going to be made would largely be to serve new areas.

2. There are about 15 - 20 complaints every month about lack of parking spaces for private home-owners.