Merry Christmas to SBS!

I want to say Merry Christmas and a big thank you to all the bus drivers working yesterday on Christmas. I managed to get home from Jurong Island without a hitch, taking 2 buses and the MRT. So "Yeah!" to the drivers on routes 154 and 32, and of course the people operating the trains, for sacrificing their public holidays so that everyone else can enjoy their off days.

Anyways, I made a trip to Chinatown today for dim sum. I left the house to catch the number 12 along Mountbatten Road. And finally, I received an Ask iris sms which said "Next Bus - Arriving". Hooray! Which meant my waiting time was all of 3 minutes. The ride was really smooth, although I have to note that this is the first time I have sat on a single-deck 12 bus. But it was okay because I was in a very good mood and managed to get a seat after a few stops anyways. Cheers!

Arr at bus stop - 10:47am

Arr of bus - 10:50am

Arr at destination - 11:20am

Fare - $1.13

Ask Iris vs The New One

As I was waiting at the bus stop outside Lakeside MRT on Friday night for the 98 bus that would take me to Jurong Island, I got impatient. Then, I noticed I signboard (I forgot to take a pic) of the new SMS Information service(I also forgot the name, sorry) that was supposed to tell you what time buses would arrive. Unlike Ask Iris, this one can be used for both SBS and SMRT, but is only currently being tested at a few bus stops on the West. That bus stop I was waiting at was one of the guinea pig ones. Ok. I arrived at the bus stop around 6:58 pm. At 7:04 I sent out for the new Public Transport one. It estimated the next 98 to arrive 12 minutes later, at 7:16. At 7:08, I sent for the Ask Iris, and that said the 98 bus would come in 6 minutes, at 7:14. The arrival time was more like 7:18. Does that mean the new system is more accurate than Ask Iris? It's probably too early to tell. I would need to test it out a few more times. But since it is being used mainly in the West, it might be a little hard. However, what was irritating was the fact that the bus still took 20 minutes to arrive, and when it finally came, so many people wanted to get onto the bus it took 5 minutes for all of us to get on. Sigh.

168 - Going Home

Finally, I was on my way back after my day in town. I got off the MRT at Bedok and headed to the Bus Interchange because I needed to buy the newspaper. After that was done, I headed off to the berth I usually get on - the one where Services 69 and 168 stop at - because there are two buses which I can take. (The 18 stops at a separate berth - I would only have half the chance catching a bus at that berth). I didn't have to wait that long for a bus - it is the interchange after all. And I had my newspaper to read. All I had to do was to see which bus came first. Today it was the 168. So, when it came, I hopped on and headed on home. Thank goodness this service is (relatively) reliable.

Arrival at Bedok Interchange ~ 6:15 pm 

168 arrival ~ 6:23 pm

Disembarkation time ~ 6:33 pm

Journey Time ~ 10 mins

Fare ~ $0.71

7 - Orchard to Bugis: Excruciating journey

I've only taken the 7 once before, from Clementi to Bugis. However, after spending 90 minutes on that journey (half of it was on the stretch between Tanglin Road and Victoria Street - seriously) I wasn't really looking forward to repeating the experience. (On an unrelated note, on that trip, at the stretch along Holland Road, about 75% of the passengers were Caucasian. Whoa.)

I got to the bus stop outside Lucky Plaza at 2:58 pm. The electronic signboard said (as seen in the photo above) that the bus would arrive in 8 minutes. It was more like 17 (due to the heavy traffic along Orchard Road - something that someone should look into). At that point, it was raining, the bus stop was crazily crowded, and I was wet and annoyed and wishing I took the MRT. Finally I managed to climb on and head for the upper deck. Thankfully there were seats left (wasn't the case last time). My joy was short-lived though. The bus, moving out from the bus lane, quickly got stuck in the Orchard traffic. The two girls sitting in front of me starting complaining to their dad, saying, "This is taking more than 20 minutes". They then starting singing, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", which was kinda cute, and at least was more interesting than staring out at the traffic below. Eventually the jam let out and I got off at Victoria Street. I checked my watch - 3:30 already. I was annoyed that a journey I could have taken in 15 minutes on the MRT (even with switching of trains and all) had taken so long on a bus. Sigh.

Arrival at Lucky Plaza bus stop ~ 2:58 pm

Arrival of bus ~ 3:15 pm

Disembarkation at Bugis Junction ~ 3:30 pm

Fare ~ $0.71

5 - Bedok to Scotts Road

This morning I decided to go to Orchard. So from the bus stop near my house, I hopped onto a 5 bus. The 5 is a very useful service. Going in one direction, I can go to Simei. And in the other, I can go to Toa Payoh (where I can change to a bus going to Maju Camp, but that is depressing and so I usually take it coming home only), Novena and Orchard. It is a semi-express service, taking the highway from Eunos in the suburbs to Thomson Road in the city. This is why I take it a lot. Just last month, my ez-link registered 5 consecutive trips on the 5. But the frequency of arrivals is so excruiatingly annoying. Sometimes it can just be a few minutes. Usually, it is 15 or more. This is irritating especially on Friday evenings when I desperately want to get home. One time, while waiting for the 5 at Simei, I had to wait 20 minutes for a bus to arrive. Then when it came, it was packed to the brim. I ended up literally squished next to the door at the front of the bus because there was no more standing space in the entire vehicle. Luckily I only had to endure a 10 minute trip before I could escape the crowded confines. Recently they have added double-deck buses on this route. Unfortunately, I have not sat on one of those yet.  

 This morning, it took only 5 minutes for the bus to come. However, I think that was because it was 11:55 am, a non-peak hour. The bus was one of those new, disabled-friendly (see pic on top), less-pollution environment-friendly ones with electronic signboards on the front. I have never seen someone in a wheelchair take one of these new buses yet. I totally agree that we should have more of these buses (even though they have less seating) for those wheelchair-bound people to use. But how frequently do they take buses? Maybe SBS should give out more information/assistance to these people to encourage them to take buses more frequently.

In the end, I ended up standing the whole journey. The 5 does get into the city quite fast, but after a while, I started getting impatient. My legs were starting to ache. I was starting to think, that maybe, it would have been better in this case for me to get onto a normal bus with more seats. After all, if I wanted to stand a lot, I would have taken the MRT.

Arrival at bus stop ~ 11:50 am

Arrival of bus ~ 11:55 am

Disembarkation time ~ 12:43 pm

Total journey time ~ 48 mins

Fare ~ $1.43

Heya

I am starting this blog because I have tons to say about the public transport system here in Singapore. And I'm tired of complaining to myself. I have lived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia almost my whole life. And in KL, public transport is inefficient and serves limited areas. So until I moved to Singapore, I had never taken a journey on a public bus. Although I am in camp (for NS, sigh) for most of the week, when I come out, I have to take buses and trains because I don't have a car. Even though I have a license. So now, I have an outlet for all the rage I feel when my bus is stuck in traffic or does not seem to appear for 20 minutes. And hopefully, someone from SBS/SMRT will read (haha) and take my constructive criticism into account.