Sydney SUCKS!
Friday night last night, or more accurately, Saturday morning, 01:30, I found myself walking home from work because there were no taxis available in the CBD. This is the second fucking time I’ve had to walk home during that hour. Two weeks ago I was also working late Friday night and ended up walking home at 00:30 Saturday morning.
Now, the walk at this hour is really not that bad, especially after I get to William St. with all the bright lights and the number of people that are on it. It’s the walk from the CBD to William St. that puts me into ultra-alert mode considering the sober/drunk people ratio in this area at this hour of the day tends to drop fucking close to zero.
Sure, I can make my way toward Elizabeth St. and head to William St. from there but holy schlamoly, that would add-up time to what should be a mere 20 min. walk!
Now, why don’t I fucking drive into the city you may ask? Well, aside from the fact that I don’t have a car, we only have one, yes, ONE, UNO–ONE FUCKING PARKING SPOT in our building and it’s reserved for one of the higher-ups. The fact that it’s been reserved is not at all an issue with me. What I really can’t stand is that the fucking enlightened government of Sydney has decreed that each building is allowed only a certain number of parking spots in order to cut fucking traffic and pollution.
(And you bet the rule for allocation is in a book thicker than all the AD&D player guides combined.)
On the surface, it is a very enlightened law and I wouldn’t have a problem with it if only these fucking idiot neanderthal rednecks fucking knew how to design, run, and fucking maintain a public transportation system! Between the bus drivers who’d fucking run you over when you cross the street even though you’re at a pedestrian zone, to the trains that can’t fucking run on time …
Oh Albert, if the public sector fails, then why don’t you rely on that good’ol capitalism and take a taxi?
Which word in “there were no taxis available in the CBD” do you not fucking understand? Sure, you can even book a fucking taxi online. Now let’s see if a taxi actually come to pick you up!
Look, in Singapore I took public transportation where I could unless it really was more convenient to pay for a taxi.
Tokyo? Holy hell, the only time I took a taxi was after a night out when I passed out at the bar that my colleague had to put me into a taxi (during which I faked my way through a conversation with the driver) to get back to the hotel. Sure, trying to figure out your way around the station can be difficult, but the system worked just fine.
These two cities know how to run and maintain a public transportation system.
Sydney? This city needs a fucking reality check. For all the beautiful weather, the fireworks that go off from the vicinity of the Sydney Harbour every other day or so (there have been two huge ones tonight), and the beaches, it needs to remember that one fucking opera house with a unique design does not make it into paradise. If you’re going to restrict people’s mobility, then make sure you have a fucking replacement that actually fucking works!
Maybe then they won’t need to put-up posters in the train station that tries to discourage people from violently expressing their frustration with the public transportation system against said system’s employees.
I have had it with the snobs who think Sydney’s at the top of the world, the snobs who think they’re the savior of the human race, and worst of all, the same fucking snobby dickwad assholes who actually get to run the fucking city.
And don’t get me started on Australia’s wonderfully shitty free health-care either.
