I am feeling so lucky right now.
I had just gotten a free ride home from my colleague and that's a rarity in itself. Mostly our dismissal times do not match and thus being able to get this ride today is giving me such a good feeling.
First, I get to reach home @ 6.45pm. That's at least 15mins to 30mins earlier than my usual time if I were to take the public transport combo of MRT and bus.
Second, I don't have to wrestle with other strangers for a seating. I get to rest my legs during the 45mins journey, rather than enduring the usual 1 hour standing ride home.
Third, I get to escape from the horrid service of bus service no. 228 for once. To me, that's a very good thing because the bus drivers aren't very nice people. Just because they are driving the bus don't mean that they can be rude and mean to passengers. Hmmpf!
Just based on these 3 factors alone is more than enough to make it my lucky day. Ok, I'm probably exaggerating a bit here. How about a lucky transport day? Better?
Hmmm... if only I can get this lucky for every single day. Yeah I know, I am such a greedy piggy, aren't I? But that's just wishful thinking on my part. My colleague doesn't owe me anything so if I manage to get a voluntary ride, I should start counting my lucky stars already. w00t!
And so, with that, I'll get an early dinner too! How's cool is that? Oooooh kimchi!!!! Here I come!!!
*Yum*
Showing posts with label sbs transit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sbs transit. Show all posts
Monday, November 3, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Super rude SBS driver, damn!
I had the misfortune of running onto a super rude SBS driver just now. He made me so mad. Mad enough to write my complaint to several papers, including SBS feedback form, STOMP, The New Paper and Today.
My complaint is posted below:
--
I had a very unpleasant encounter on SBS bus service 228, SBS 3640 J, at 7pm on 11 Aug 08. I thought I had tapped my ez-link card successfully and so I proceeded to the back of the bus to sit down. I was given a rude shock when the bus driver came to me and demanded my ez-link.
The problem is, he chose to confront me when every passenger had boarded the bus. I ended up getting rude stares and comments from all the passengers and furthermore, the driver took my card away and only returned it after he drove the bus on a long journey. I was lucky that my destination was only slightly further than that.
Shouldn't the bus driver be telling the passenger at that moment when the tapping failed, rather than wait for all the other passengers to board and then make a big confrontation show just to prove his point? If a tapping fails, there would be no beep sound and I'm sure the driver would be alert enough to catch that. The driver was simply too tactless and it was clear that he was out to shame people publicly. Is this how SBS drivers should conduct themselves in public?
In addition, when he returned my card, he commented out loud that next time I should tap my card if i want to board a bus. Is he trying to shame me further? Or is this the direction given by SBS on how the drivers behave towards the public? I wasn't given a chance to explain myself.
There are times when ez-link cards failed on you and that is an honest mistake. Not tapping the card at the front doesn't automatically means that you are trying to evade paying the bus fare. Unless SBS can guarantee that every single ez-link card in Singapore is working perfectly and shouldn't be encountering any tapping problems, otherwise they should discipline their bus drivers more strictly. We are not paying bus fares to get a lousy ride.
--
I don't know whether my letter will get published as it seems to be a mere petty case. But I will strive to post my complaints all over the Internet until I get a favourable response from SBS Transit.
Knowing SBS's past experience, they usually just sweep aside the case with a simple reply saying that they will send the driver for counseling. This shows how inefficient the company is when dealing with recalcitrant drivers. This is not the first time I wrote in to complain about their bus services.
In the end, the service never improves and with SBS being the monopoly in the transportation industry, there will be more woes for commuters.
=(
My complaint is posted below:
--
I had a very unpleasant encounter on SBS bus service 228, SBS 3640 J, at 7pm on 11 Aug 08. I thought I had tapped my ez-link card successfully and so I proceeded to the back of the bus to sit down. I was given a rude shock when the bus driver came to me and demanded my ez-link.
The problem is, he chose to confront me when every passenger had boarded the bus. I ended up getting rude stares and comments from all the passengers and furthermore, the driver took my card away and only returned it after he drove the bus on a long journey. I was lucky that my destination was only slightly further than that.
Shouldn't the bus driver be telling the passenger at that moment when the tapping failed, rather than wait for all the other passengers to board and then make a big confrontation show just to prove his point? If a tapping fails, there would be no beep sound and I'm sure the driver would be alert enough to catch that. The driver was simply too tactless and it was clear that he was out to shame people publicly. Is this how SBS drivers should conduct themselves in public?
In addition, when he returned my card, he commented out loud that next time I should tap my card if i want to board a bus. Is he trying to shame me further? Or is this the direction given by SBS on how the drivers behave towards the public? I wasn't given a chance to explain myself.
There are times when ez-link cards failed on you and that is an honest mistake. Not tapping the card at the front doesn't automatically means that you are trying to evade paying the bus fare. Unless SBS can guarantee that every single ez-link card in Singapore is working perfectly and shouldn't be encountering any tapping problems, otherwise they should discipline their bus drivers more strictly. We are not paying bus fares to get a lousy ride.
--
I don't know whether my letter will get published as it seems to be a mere petty case. But I will strive to post my complaints all over the Internet until I get a favourable response from SBS Transit.
Knowing SBS's past experience, they usually just sweep aside the case with a simple reply saying that they will send the driver for counseling. This shows how inefficient the company is when dealing with recalcitrant drivers. This is not the first time I wrote in to complain about their bus services.
In the end, the service never improves and with SBS being the monopoly in the transportation industry, there will be more woes for commuters.
=(
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Buses are useless!
Today I had such a bad experience with SBS Transit feeder service number 228. Usually buses take around 15 minutes to arrive during peak hours but this evening it took more than half an hour before a bus finally drove into the pick-up point.
I have been tolerating this shoddy service for a long time and I suspect many Singaporeans are also feeling the same way as me. Yet most of them just don't report the matter to SBS nor the LTA. Hence I penned, or rather typed, 2 emails. One to SBS and the other went to LTA. I was so upset at seeing other commuters being able to get their buses arrive on time that my temper simply boils whenever I think about it.
*sighs*
I think it's only a matter of time before I go crazy from all those lengthy bus waits. Why can't SBS treat the commuters better? It is very disheartening to see service number 225 come around 4 or 5 times just to fetch commuters to Bedok North. Then there's service no. 17 which came 3 times. Still no sight of that elusive service 228. Hmmm...
So I shall now post what I had written to both SBS and LTA. Hmmm...
Here's the email which I sent to SBS:
--
I had to wait 35 minutes for feeder bus service 228 in order to get home. This is becoming a trademark for SBS Transit buses. What makes matters worse is that I observed how other bus services like 225 had arrived frequently for the commuters to Bedok North area, or that bus service 17 had arrived 3 times to pick up commuters, or that bus service 229 had arrived at least twice to pick up commuters. So does that mean that commuters heading towards Bedok Reservoir area don't matter to SBS Transit at all? Must we waste 35 minutes EVERY single time that we wait for the FEEDER bus? It makes no sense at all, wasting commuters' precious time. Are we being treated as outcast just because we are living in the Bedok Reservoir area? It is always frustrating to wait for SBS buses no matter what the circumstances are. I have given hope on SBS. Yet because of the monopoly hold over most parts of the eastern public transport, I have no other choices other than SBS to get me to my destination. Stop mistreating the residents of Bedok Reservoir area. Please wake up to our pleas!
--
And here's the letter to LTA:
--
Dear Sir/Madam,
On 22.05.08 at 7.25pm, I waited for SBS Transit feeder bus service 228 at Bedok bus interchange to go home. However, the bus, license no. SBS 0070 Z, only came at 7.57pm.
Is this supposed to be within the waiting time limit of 15 minutes? With the movement for bus operators to improve the waiting time during peak hours to 10 minutes, it seems like the bus operator is unable to keep up with the new proposed waiting time intervals. Furthermore, it is a feeder service bus and therefore should have a shorter bus route than the usual trunk service. Hence, the bus should be able to arrive on time. Yet several commuters had to wait for more than half an hour in order for the bus to arrive at the pick-up point.
Is this going the way of future advancement for Singapore's bus transportation? If that's the case, it makes much more sense to own a car than to take public transport as time is of the utmost importance to working individuals. Commuters should not be made the victim for the failure of compliance by the bus operators.
With all the increase in bus fares, the least we expect from the bus operators is to ensure that the buses arrive at a reasonable time. However a 35 minutes waiting time for a feeder bus service is simply too much, not to mention that it happened during peak hours for dinnertime. In any case, let's hope that our bus transportation will improve, otherwise I will have to invest in a car.
How will the government ensure that commuters' interests will be protected against errant bus operators? On top of that, the buses are always packed full to the brim, with hardly any standing space left. Is the 95% full bus load a mandatory condition for the bus operators to comply? Commuters are often at a loss when they encounter such incidents. Either they board the bus and squeeze like sardines or else they will have to wait for the next bus, which means they will be late for their appointments. Again this would bring the issue of bus frequency back into the picture. It is a very delicate situation which every citizen hopes that it will be settled once and for all.
Thank you for your time to attend to this feedback. Have a nice day.
--
So, how's my letter writing. Need improvement right. kekeke....
I have been tolerating this shoddy service for a long time and I suspect many Singaporeans are also feeling the same way as me. Yet most of them just don't report the matter to SBS nor the LTA. Hence I penned, or rather typed, 2 emails. One to SBS and the other went to LTA. I was so upset at seeing other commuters being able to get their buses arrive on time that my temper simply boils whenever I think about it.
*sighs*
I think it's only a matter of time before I go crazy from all those lengthy bus waits. Why can't SBS treat the commuters better? It is very disheartening to see service number 225 come around 4 or 5 times just to fetch commuters to Bedok North. Then there's service no. 17 which came 3 times. Still no sight of that elusive service 228. Hmmm...
So I shall now post what I had written to both SBS and LTA. Hmmm...
Here's the email which I sent to SBS:
--
I had to wait 35 minutes for feeder bus service 228 in order to get home. This is becoming a trademark for SBS Transit buses. What makes matters worse is that I observed how other bus services like 225 had arrived frequently for the commuters to Bedok North area, or that bus service 17 had arrived 3 times to pick up commuters, or that bus service 229 had arrived at least twice to pick up commuters. So does that mean that commuters heading towards Bedok Reservoir area don't matter to SBS Transit at all? Must we waste 35 minutes EVERY single time that we wait for the FEEDER bus? It makes no sense at all, wasting commuters' precious time. Are we being treated as outcast just because we are living in the Bedok Reservoir area? It is always frustrating to wait for SBS buses no matter what the circumstances are. I have given hope on SBS. Yet because of the monopoly hold over most parts of the eastern public transport, I have no other choices other than SBS to get me to my destination. Stop mistreating the residents of Bedok Reservoir area. Please wake up to our pleas!
--
And here's the letter to LTA:
--
Dear Sir/Madam,
On 22.05.08 at 7.25pm, I waited for SBS Transit feeder bus service 228 at Bedok bus interchange to go home. However, the bus, license no. SBS 0070 Z, only came at 7.57pm.
Is this supposed to be within the waiting time limit of 15 minutes? With the movement for bus operators to improve the waiting time during peak hours to 10 minutes, it seems like the bus operator is unable to keep up with the new proposed waiting time intervals. Furthermore, it is a feeder service bus and therefore should have a shorter bus route than the usual trunk service. Hence, the bus should be able to arrive on time. Yet several commuters had to wait for more than half an hour in order for the bus to arrive at the pick-up point.
Is this going the way of future advancement for Singapore's bus transportation? If that's the case, it makes much more sense to own a car than to take public transport as time is of the utmost importance to working individuals. Commuters should not be made the victim for the failure of compliance by the bus operators.
With all the increase in bus fares, the least we expect from the bus operators is to ensure that the buses arrive at a reasonable time. However a 35 minutes waiting time for a feeder bus service is simply too much, not to mention that it happened during peak hours for dinnertime. In any case, let's hope that our bus transportation will improve, otherwise I will have to invest in a car.
How will the government ensure that commuters' interests will be protected against errant bus operators? On top of that, the buses are always packed full to the brim, with hardly any standing space left. Is the 95% full bus load a mandatory condition for the bus operators to comply? Commuters are often at a loss when they encounter such incidents. Either they board the bus and squeeze like sardines or else they will have to wait for the next bus, which means they will be late for their appointments. Again this would bring the issue of bus frequency back into the picture. It is a very delicate situation which every citizen hopes that it will be settled once and for all.
Thank you for your time to attend to this feedback. Have a nice day.
--
So, how's my letter writing. Need improvement right. kekeke....
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