Late Night Shopping
Late night shopping, midnight sales, etc is making another comeback this Great Singapore Sale. It is a fantastic idea and addresses many people's complaints about shops closing too early for shopping after dinner which may end around 8 to 9 pm.
However, this idea will only be able to take baby steps now and is unlikely to catch on in a big way since the supporting infrastructure is not present. The shops can jolly well stay open as late as they want but shoppers who do not drive are going to play Cinderella once it approaches midnight. When the last bus or MRT departs and cheap public transport is no longer available, shoppers will then have to hail taxis to get home. And for those who are not informed about the taxi fare structure in Singapore, there is a midnight surcharge when getting rides after midnight. Unless there were huge savings in the midnight sales, more probably than not, the taxi fare will wipe out whatever savings there were.
As Singapore tries to develop a vibrant nightlife, it becomes more pressing to look into the need for affordable transport services to lengthen their operation timings. A city will fine it difficult to grow a nightlife when the bloodlines of transportation are restricted and not bring nourishment to the establishments that seek the nightcrawlers out to have fun.
However, this idea will only be able to take baby steps now and is unlikely to catch on in a big way since the supporting infrastructure is not present. The shops can jolly well stay open as late as they want but shoppers who do not drive are going to play Cinderella once it approaches midnight. When the last bus or MRT departs and cheap public transport is no longer available, shoppers will then have to hail taxis to get home. And for those who are not informed about the taxi fare structure in Singapore, there is a midnight surcharge when getting rides after midnight. Unless there were huge savings in the midnight sales, more probably than not, the taxi fare will wipe out whatever savings there were.
As Singapore tries to develop a vibrant nightlife, it becomes more pressing to look into the need for affordable transport services to lengthen their operation timings. A city will fine it difficult to grow a nightlife when the bloodlines of transportation are restricted and not bring nourishment to the establishments that seek the nightcrawlers out to have fun.
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