This afternoon I decided to take a stroll from my house down to Siglap, or maybe Marine Parade Road. When I started walking, I haven't made a decision. I let my legs do the decision. As I was walking walking walking this bus drove by me. Bus number 48.
For a moment I was stunned. My first thought was that it was a non-servicing bus. But then again, non-servicing buses usually do not have numbers on them, so I peered into the windows of the moving vehicle. And I saw passengers! I was like what's that?! So I hurried to the nearest bus stop along that stretch of road to check the bus services. I saw this...
There's a new bus along the road! In a nice bolder white print than the other bus services. But of course, my most immediate concern was where was this new bus plying. If this bus was going to ply some uluated road, who cares man, so I checked out the sandwich board hanging on the bus post.
Okay, I made this bigger so that you can see the words. The words which got me so excited. This bus was a bus that would bring me to Parkway! My favourite hangout, Parkway Parade. I even had devoted one blog entry to that coolest shopping mall.
http://jal4eva.blogspot.com/2004/10/parkway-parade-from-list-of-suburban.html
I was even quoted by Straits Times as they did a follow up to the said article the next week. Yup, other than putting up my grouses online, I sent a carbon copy down to their editor's desk. Yes, I do love Parkway that much.
But it wasn't only the Parkway thingie that got my spirits up, it was the bus plying through Bugis Junction and Holland V that made me stop for a double look. I'm not really a Bugis fan, but my sis is, and being the nice sister I am, yup, I was excited for her. I haven't been that much into Holland V, but well, I am an NUS student and other than Fong Seng, there aren't that many places that are popular for suppering, Holland V is one of them.
But before I go on praising SBS Transit for doing such a good job in linking my home to Parkway, this other sandwich board caught my sight...
I also made this big cos I am indignant!
I was only gone for a month and I came back to Singapore to see this?! Okay, I admit, public transport in Singapore is cheaper than in Freiburg, but on concession, Freiburg's definitely cheaper. For 30euros I got a regioKarte which allowed me to use any mode of transportation within the Freiburg region, which is a rather large region anyway. In Singapore, a bus stamp would cost me S$48(that's the price I know, not sure if it's inceased anot). BUT, it does not include MRT rides. If you want train concession, that would be an additional S$52. And it's not unlimited rides, it's capped at 4 rides a day. So for a combi concession, I think it costs S$98, with a S$2 discount. AND THE TRAIN RIDES ARE CAPPED!
Why am I complaining? Cos I'm not a concession holder and I frequently take long bus rides to school or to some weird weird place, my bus fares were usually S$1.53 which I thought was pretty decent cos it's capped at the max, BUT it is now S$1.55. I know it's only 2 bloody cents but it's still a lot to me. Imagine me taking to and fro everyday, that'd make it 4 bloody cents and multiply that by 365, that'll be S$14.60. And Singapore has a population of 2 million commuters according to that billboard advert
Conclusion: SBS Transit are big bloody bloodsuckers. And they ARE already making profits.
Hai... Maybe this is a small price to pay for to get that straight bus to my beloved Parkway.
4 comments:
hey u like taking buses? me too... very interested in the bus routes and mrt routes... reading maps are my past times... :P carry on writing!
erm.. i think its 52 for bus and 48 for train. they were like making profit since a long time ago. like when they had aircond feeder buses, they started raising the fare.
I disagree with the reasons that SBS Transit and MRT have given for the price increase, unfortunately, but its the price we pay for an efficent transportation system.
I recently lived in Thailand for 5 months and where the maximum cap is SGD1, it came so irregularly that sometimes you have to wait for an 1 hour before the next bus comes.
Taxis are worst, where you have to bargain for the price of your trip. It is worst if you are a foreigner. A $8 trip in a taxi maybe shorter than a $4 trip you could take in Singapore (excluding all the other surcharges).
HI This is Kris here.
I have been out of the country for three and a half years. I kept myself updated by reading local news and the blogs by local bloggers. Thanks to them that i know what is happening. Yeah I agree. Singapore changes too fast. It is not a bad or good sign thing. Rather can Singaporean adapt to the rapid changes that sweep them off their feet every time they turn their heads? That is the bigger question. There is a great contrast between Singapore and our neighboring countries. But Home is still home I will be back next April. I hope things are always for the better.
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