Who moved my bus?

I've never been so disappointed with SBS.

Time: 8:35am
Place: Bus stop beside Dover MRT, outside Singapore Polytechnic
Offending bus number: 74

I was already late for my class, which was supposed to commence at 8:30am. Nevertheless, I thought I could be just 10mins late if the waiting time for 74 is minimal. I was initially relieved to see a big crowd of students at the bus stop as it meant that 74 is late and would probably arrive soon (it is the only bus connecting to SIM and NP from Dover MRT).


Time: 8:45am

A single-deck 74 arrives, followed by a double-deck one immediately after. Unfortunately, I was not able to board either. I was not the only one who failed to board either bus though. I found out later from Sebas that the huge crowd was due to a long wait that had started way before I arrived at the bus stop. Apparently, he had reached there around 8:05am.

I thought the bus would arrive shortly.

Time: 9am

By now, I was really bored and wondering if the bus would ever come. A few started messaging away, perhaps to complain to their friends about the long wait. I was also getting tired of the Bubbles game on my handphone, which I had been playing since the start of my journey. I see the crowd building up again.

I thought the bus would arrive shortly.


Time: 9:15am

Bus 74 seems to be taking eternity to reach the bus stop. Considering that stop is only about 10 - 15mins away from its depot at Buona Vista Bus Terminal, it was really puzzling how the bus took so long to reach. Could there be a huge jam outside Buona Vista MRT?

Meanwhile, in the next eight minutes, two bus 105, two bus 147, and FOUR bus 14 (YES! It's really four!) appeared and disappeared. But still no bus 74.

I thought the bus would arrive shortly.


Time: 9:25am

Relieve! Finally the ordeal is over. For me at least. A few people were not able to board the bus. Well, I'd waited long enough; it's their turn to wait.


Conclusion

Amazingly, between 8:05am and 9:25am, which is a span of 1hr 20mins, only three bus 74 appeared at that bus stop. That makes it an average frequency of 26.666666666mins per bus! Wow! I certainly didn't expect that from our supposedly world class transport system. To add insult to injury, the wait took so long that I was not awarded any transfer rebate. -.-'''

I think it's very unfair that I have to pay more for substandard service.

Two off service bus 74 passed by between 9am and 9:25am. Another off service bus was spotted, but no number plate could be seen. I would not be surprised though, if that was supposed to be bus 74 as well. It's curious how bus 74 kept getting rerouted while a big crowd waits for eternity.

HOW DISAPPOINTING!


P.S. I spotted a broken down bus 74 parked by the road near the bus stop outside SIM, when I was waiting for my bus home.

It's a scam!

It was 10:10am on a normal Wednesday morning. I was still in dreamland.

The phone rang. I picked it up, thinking it was Mother. (She seems to enjoy bombarding the phone with a myriad of requests/instructions on those mornings that I sleep in...)

Me: (Still half-asleep, in a sleepy drone) Hello...
Girl-speaking-in-Mandarin-with-a-hint-of-a-Chinese-accent (GSMHCA): (Sobbing) Pa pa! Kuai lai jiu wo! (Translation: Dad! Save me!)

Me: (Still half-asleep, in a sleepy drone) Huh?? (I didn't quite catch what she said)
GSMHCA: (Sobbing) Pa pa! Kuai lai jiu wo!

Me: (Slightly more awake, in a sleepy drone) Ni shi shui? (Translation: Who are you?)
GSMHCA: (Sobbing) Pa pa! Kuai lai jiu wo!

Me: (A little more awake, in a sleepy drone) Ni shi shui?
GSMHCA: (Sobbing) Pa pa! Kuai lai jiu wo!

Me: (Awake now) Ni shi shui?
The girl hung up.

Damn! My brain was just starting to function and I thought I could elicit more information from her and spoil her fun with a police report. I regretted asking “Ni shi shui?” a third time. It came out from my mouth too fast, like a conditioned reflex. The first time I asked, I thought that perhaps someone I know was really in trouble and had said “Wo hen pa” - I'm scared, rather than called me “Pa pa”, which is why I asked a second time. I wonder if she thinks I'm retarded. (Hmm...)

Interestingly, I only just read about one of these scam calls last night from an online forum. Someone from an English-speaking family wrote that his mum received a call from a Chinese claiming to be him (her son), saying that he had been kidnapped. Haha!





P.S.: Hmm... I didn't know I have a daughter... Should I be happy or worried? Or maybe my dad has a daughter! ;-p