Our buses should be better

So the public transport review committee slapped fines on SBS and SMRT bus services yesterday. They listed a series of buses not up to standard in a couple of key areas

1. Operating above 95% capacity during peak hours
2. Keeping to arrival schedule

Mind you, operating above 95% capacity does not just refer to seating capacity. Standing room also comes into account here and this 95% is probably just enough so that you aren’t forced to smell the armpit of the person next to you as he or she holds on to the railing.

For a while it looked to me that transport companies in Singapore were getting out of hand. I believe they raised prices 3-4 times between 2006-2008? To me raising the price is warranted if the service improves.

Yes the service has improved. Bus Captains are friendlier. There are now buses equipped for wheelchairs. Most buses are air conditioned and they’ve even introduced a new more spacious fleet of single and double deck buses. The Iris system with the bus time has also been very helpful. To their credit, they did lower prices this year in view of the economic downturn.

Having been away recently, I do appreciate our transport system. It really deserves the credit it gets. But that being said, there still are a few things that totally irritate me.

Firstly, why on earth do single deck buses still run on popular routes? Many a times I’ve dealt with a single deck 14, packed like sardines on a Friday night. Firstlty, 14 takes an extremely popular route, covering Clementi, Orchard and all of Mountbatten and East Coast. Knowing that there is high demand, why on earth do they still use single decks – and on Friday night especially? I get on at Bras Basah and there have been many instances in which the buses simply do not stop because it’s just too crowded. Given their yearly profits, I’m sure they can afford to replace the peak hour single decks with a double – even if it’s not of the new spacious range.

Secondly, i’m sure everyone has experienced this before. You are tired after a long day and simply can’t wait to get home to the comforts of your bed/tv/computer. You wait what seems like an eternity for your bus and when you finally get on, you find it  moves at crawling pace. The only reason I can think of is that the bus went ahead of schedule in the earlier part of its journey and is trying to make up for it (and not be reprimanded for being ahead of schedule) by going as slow as possible in the later stage of its route.

Lastly, any cyclist or motorcyclist will tell you that being stuck in traffic behind a bus can reduce ones lung capacity substantially. It is a total anti climax to go for a ride one Sunday morning expecting clean air, only to get stuck behind a bus giving of such heinous fumes.  I seriously urge SBS, SMRT and their regulatory bodies to put in place measures ensure a significantly lower level of pollution is emitted from these big vehicles.

Alrighty, that’s enough of a rant from me. Time to resume my duties as a student and complete those darn reports!