Writing Question:
Some people believe that eating and drinking on public transportation should be allowed. Others oppose it. Write a letter to the editor of the Hong Kong Daily giving your opinions. Provide three reasons to support your point of view.

Dear Editor,

    Hong Kong is a fast-paced city where public transportation is a common tool for travelling in daily life. Recently, many citizens are suggesting that eating and drinking on public transportation should be considered. However, it may cause different problems.

    To begin with, safety is the first element to take into consideration especially since the population of Hong Kong is massive. There is a fact of life about taking public transport in the city – not all passengers can get a sit. Take the MTR as an example, there are always more people standing than people who are sitting. Chaotic traffic is not difficult to cause. It is common to have obstacles on the railway sometimes and passengers who are eating or drinking might get hurt as they are not able to hold the handrails carefully. Even worse, this might give rise to incidents between passengers when one harms another accidentally. Not only can this happen on the MTR, but also the buses that exist in even greater numbers on the roads.

    Having said that, hygiene problems are easily created and this increases the already heavy workload for cleaners. The spaces on public transport are usually limited and enclosed. In this case, there must be a smell inside the vehicle as passengers are eating different kinds of food. However, not everyone can endure the smell of those special kinds of food like durians and bean curd. It seems that public transport is not a good place for people to eat regardless of the food, nor drink, as there is a higher chance of spilling the drinks while the vehicles are bumping along the rough roads. Therefore, the cleanliness of the transport will be affected and it is easy to attract a huge amount of cockroaches, if not rats, which might elevate the public hygiene problem to a serious level. Moreover, if someone forgets to pick up their utensils and plastic bags, the cleaner will have to do more work than before. It will also affect other passengers. Even worse, passengers who are not eating and drinking will be disgusted by the food debris on the floor, the chairs and the handrails. Accordingly, the transmission of diseases which can affect one’s health will increase on public transportation.

    Apparently, it is inconsiderate to neglect the interests of the vast majority of people in order to satisfy a small amount of selfish passengers. According to a research from the government, more than 80% of citizens agree that not allowing eating or drinking on public transport is a more desirable idea. It reflects that many people would actually not like to eat and drink in these places. When different hygiene and safety problems occur on public transport, it will lead to the decline of the transport system in Hong Kong. As we all know, most HongKongers rely on public transport for going to work and school. It will lower the efficiency of travel and decrease public confidence if the hygiene and safety problems arise.

    In conclusion, the need for eating or drinking on public transport is reasonable. Nonetheless, it relies too much on the self-discipline of every passenger to ensure greater public concerns will not be affected. Taking the will of the majority in to consideration is always crucial to achieving success.

                                                        Yours faithfully,

                                                        Grace Li