COMMENT | In the cold winter of 2014, I stepped out of the Central Line tube, excited to meet friends in London I hadn’t seen in a while. But before I could greet them at their doorstep, my journey required me to take another mode of transportation: the bus.

My experiences back home with buses weren’t great: they were late and I had no way of telling when the next one would arrive. Not to mention, finding one near me would be a hassle in itself. But after a convenient two-minute walk, I was already at the bus stop.

I looked up to find an electronic board, which told me I needed to wait just a mere 1 minute for the next bus to arrive. It came. It was on time. “Efficient public transport with great last-mile connectivity? Wow, this sure is nice,” I told myself.

In the next four years of studying in the UK, I witnessed many “nice things” as I capitalised on cheap airfare and travelled across Europe. I was in awe of the bicycle lanes in Amsterdam, I was mesmerised by Germany’s recycling programme, and I listened in envy to a Malaysian residing in Finland, who told me tales of how wonderful the Finnish education system was for his children.

“Why can’t we have nice things back home?” I asked myself.

Well, upon coming back, I think I may have an answer to that question...