I used to take the train to work.
And I used to whine incessantly about how crowded the train is, how infrequent the trains are, how the air is horrid, a disgusting putrid mixture of sweat and cheap perfume, blah blah blah.
Now I know better.
I have to take the bus to work now. And my god, is the bus system bad or what?! The wait is ridiculous, upwards of 25-30 mins. Its incredibly crowded, and worst of all, stupid Singaporeans just refuse to move in! While the passengers force their way in, the people hanging around at the door just steadfastly refuse to move in, and are completely oblivious to the struggles of the people in front.
What disgusts me even more, is how our public transport companies completely refuse to do something about this. Its a situation that has not changed since the bus service started (I used to take the bus to school). Unless we dramatically increase the frequency of buses, this service is just simply impossible to use.
And because I had not used the bus in quite a while, I had in a sense, forgotten what Singapore really is. The bus is filled with the real common folk of Singapore. Yes, we rave about our financial hub status, and the beautiful Marina Bay resorts, Sentosa Cove, Zouk and all. But there really exists this large population of people who will never appreciate these things. And they are forgotten in our country's mad push towards GDP growth. I ask, GDP growth, but for whom?
Taking the bus, allowed me to see these folks, the people too poor to own their cars, or even take the train --> which I have also discovered, is significantly more expensive than the bus.
I hope we don't forget them.
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3 comments:
I hardly used the bus system in singapore while I lived there, but when I did for soccer at pierce on saturdays, I remember waiting 20 - 30 minutes sometimes. Somehow I remember that the waiting times were much shorter 15 years ago
Its definitely longer, althought by how much I am not sure. Our government brilliantly cut plenty of bus services after the North East Line was set up.
The bus system now is really untenable. Its quite sad.
The government must be reading your blog because today's straits times headline is how the Transport council wants bus service standards, especially waiting times, improved!
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