(N Level 2021) Some people say that we should walk everywhere instead of taking public transport. What do you think?

I think it’s laudable that some people are willing to walk everywhere. I love walking myself and consistently walk more than 10,000 steps every day. However, I think we should rely on other modes of transport for various reasons.

Life in Singapore is fast-paced, so I think if I were to just rely on walking, I wouldn’t be able to get many things accomplished within the day. This is especially so when I have a list of errands to run, including buying groceries, receiving preordered packages and even visiting the clinic. I definitely wouldn’t be able to function productively just by walking everywhere.

Nonetheless, I understand where these advocates of walking are coming from, and I do agree that walking is the cheapest and least troublesome forms of exercise. I will suggest cycling instead. Many streets in Singapore have been redesigned with cyclists in mind. Many parks are even interlinked via cycling paths. So, I believe that cycling offers the best of both worlds: exercising adequately and completing our errands.

Since I believe in the importance of cycling, I suggest that all schools incorporate cycling lessons into their curriculum, just like SwimSafer. I know of one school called NorthLight School which does that, and it seems that the students there have learnt cycling through their PE lessons.