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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Latest fines won't affect bus companies
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I AM shocked by the light penalties stated in yesterday's report, "Bus firms fined over poor service".
Fines amounting to merely $4,500 and $100 are pocket change to the bus companies and may send the wrong message to them. I travel occasionally by bus and take the trains where possible because of the latter's efficiency and regularity.
Having recently started to take buses more regularly, I have noticed that while in general, the newer buses are more pleasant to travel in, problems are still not being addressed by the bus companies.
Apart from just monitoring the buses, the Public Transport Council should also consider having its officials stay with a bus throughout its entire journey to observe both the timing and crowd at the various sectors. This would allow them to ensure that the buses do not get overcrowded and to observe bus timings at various times of the day, including off-peak hours. This will, in turn, help them to better advise bus companies on how to schedule their bus timetables.
The bus that I travel on most frequently is SMRT service 980 which travels from Kallang to Sembawang.
Waiting time for this service stretches up to 30 minutes, making a mockery of its listed waiting interval of 17 minutes.
Often, passengers have to wait for the next bus as the one that arrives is too packed, with some passengers even standing on the steps.
This bus is extremely popular with foreign workers, particularly on Sunday nights, as it passes by Rochor Road and there is a foreign worker dormitory in Thomson Road.
I have witnessed bus company staff in uniform at the bus stop in Rochor Road on Sunday nights cajoling passengers onto the buses and overcrowding them.
One solution is to run a special express bus service for these workers that go direct to their dormitories on weekend nights.
Besides overcrowding and frequency, I have noted several other areas in which the bus companies are lacking:
* SMRT buses are getting old and stuffy. Judging from the amount of dirt seen on the bus filters, the air-conditioning systems on many buses are not cleaned regularly enough.
* Bus drivers need to be more careful when they apply the brakes. On average, four in five buses I ride on have drivers who step too hard on the brakes, causing the bus to jerk. On two occasions, I have actually seen people fall, with no one stepping forth to help. This jerkiness does not occur only at bus stops but also at traffic lights. Colin Lim
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I AM shocked by the light penalties stated in yesterday's report, "Bus firms fined over poor service".
Fines amounting to merely $4,500 and $100 are pocket change to the bus companies and may send the wrong message to them. I travel occasionally by bus and take the trains where possible because of the latter's efficiency and regularity.
Having recently started to take buses more regularly, I have noticed that while in general, the newer buses are more pleasant to travel in, problems are still not being addressed by the bus companies.
Apart from just monitoring the buses, the Public Transport Council should also consider having its officials stay with a bus throughout its entire journey to observe both the timing and crowd at the various sectors. This would allow them to ensure that the buses do not get overcrowded and to observe bus timings at various times of the day, including off-peak hours. This will, in turn, help them to better advise bus companies on how to schedule their bus timetables.
The bus that I travel on most frequently is SMRT service 980 which travels from Kallang to Sembawang.
Waiting time for this service stretches up to 30 minutes, making a mockery of its listed waiting interval of 17 minutes.
Often, passengers have to wait for the next bus as the one that arrives is too packed, with some passengers even standing on the steps.
This bus is extremely popular with foreign workers, particularly on Sunday nights, as it passes by Rochor Road and there is a foreign worker dormitory in Thomson Road.
I have witnessed bus company staff in uniform at the bus stop in Rochor Road on Sunday nights cajoling passengers onto the buses and overcrowding them.
One solution is to run a special express bus service for these workers that go direct to their dormitories on weekend nights.
Besides overcrowding and frequency, I have noted several other areas in which the bus companies are lacking:
* SMRT buses are getting old and stuffy. Judging from the amount of dirt seen on the bus filters, the air-conditioning systems on many buses are not cleaned regularly enough.
* Bus drivers need to be more careful when they apply the brakes. On average, four in five buses I ride on have drivers who step too hard on the brakes, causing the bus to jerk. On two occasions, I have actually seen people fall, with no one stepping forth to help. This jerkiness does not occur only at bus stops but also at traffic lights. Colin Lim
