SMRT buses provides me my almost-daily transport to school and back, shopping, going out for meals or to meet other people.
However, this by no means implies that their service is good.
I was once on my way to Orchard from an unfamiliar location...
As I wanted to stop at the Heeren, not at John Little, I aske the driver if the bus stopped at Heeren. He quietly nodded his head.
But the thing was, the but didnt stop at Heeren.
This happened to me at least twice.
It is really frustrating!
Also, the new buses with the leanbacks for wheelchair bound people suck.
I mean, of course you wanna help the disabled live life more compfortably, but now ther's sooooo little sitting space!
And it has a weird smell too.
SIGH.
Oh well.

On 05 December 2008 at 7:11pm (the EZ Link machine stated 8:11:55HRS), I boarded TIBS Bus Number 861P. And upon finding a seat, the bus captain immediately stood up, turned around and stared at me accusingly. He then next pointed at me without saying a single word and immediately pointed back to the EZ Link machine repeatedly. And for the entire journey, I was really angry at being embarrassed and humiliated in this manner and the bus captain didn’t offer an apology upon knowing that I had tapped my card and duly paid my fares like everyone else. Although throughout the trip, I had considered asking for his name to lodge a formal complaint, I decided not to do so and decided to ask him directly what was going on.

I understand that bus captains have their duties at hand, whether is it in checking and making sure that passengers paid their fares or if their passengers moved to the back of the bus to allow other boarding passengers to board and things like that. But what happened next really left me feeling disgusted with this bus captain’s attitude and aggressive behavior towards me.

Just before I reached my intended stop, I went up to him and ask what exactly was going on and he simply feigned ignorance. When I questioned him on why did he have to humiliate and embarrass me in front of so many passengers even though I paid my fare, he started to raise his voice at me and claimed that he never humiliate me at all. So I explained to him that he just pointed at me accusingly and at the EZ Link machine and he claimed that he asked me nicely to tap my EZ link card for verification.

And he next taunted me by saying that I can lodged a complaint against him if I feel like it and further said that I was being aggressive and he would report me to the police even though he raised his voice at me first. Of course I was angry and raised my voice back at him. He kept raising his voice, taunting me and still embarrassing and humiliating me by saying that I was aggressive even though he was the one who raised his voice throughout the conversation until I got off the bus.

May I enquire if your bus captains were trained to embarrassed, humiliated, taunt and be aggressive towards passengers who paid their fares duly and without a word of apology? Or is the bus captain very confident that I won’t have the courage to lodge a formal complaint and hence decided to taunt, humiliate and embarrass me?

This incident have traumatized me and give me the impression that bus captains can have their way as and when they decide to and I am waiting for an explanation and apology from the bus captain who was involved in this dispute.

Some of you may still remember a few year back this was the Trans-Island Bus Services (TIBS) that managed these buses. These are the yellow or red/white buses you see on the roads.

The bus drivers (by the way, only SBS terms their drivers 'Captains') are by large, rude and reckless. They tend not to care about the safety of their passengers. They like to move off fast and drive at high speed. So it also leads to a tendency to 2, 3 buses coming together at the same time. As recent as today, this driver took lane 3 of a 3 lane road and did a turn to the right. It was such a risky move and could cause mishap and confusion among road users.

Another thing people often criticise SMRT buses for are the seats. It can cause skin irritation as germs and bacteria could cumulate in the furry seats. If you're not convinced, try hitting the seat and see the particles floating out.

I really look towards their proposed move of revamping their fleet of buses, much needed really. Things such as changing the furry seats, changing the floorboard and stuffs. Come mid-may, they are going to introduce some new buses! The Mercedes-Benz Euro V bus series. I'm riding in a Mercedes soon!! Haha.

But seriously, they really need to take a good look at the level of service and consideration that the drivers offer to the passengers. There needs to be a review to ensure a pleasant trip for all to enjoy. Public transport is something we will consume for most part of our life, and we as consumers do deserve better service and treatment on our part, right?