Today, I had to endure an arduous bus journey, standing throughout the 22km distance from Khatib (opposite MRT) bus stop till Pasir Ris West Plaza via Jalan Kayu Bus Stop.
The SBS Transit Service 39 bus I was in, was full as usual, and nobody was prepared to offer a seat to an elderly retiree. Heavily laden with two bags — one a haversack — and with a 21-min standing-and-waiting time, in my hands, I began to look around me and couldn’t help wondering how, in such grim circumstances, SBS Transit had the audacity to put up its cheerleader poster and video clip entitled “Love Your Ride”. Remember?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5eY43Ewh9A
Lyrics:
“It’s so easy to love your ride
Queue to get on, then move it
Move it
Move it inside
Someone in need
So give up your seat
Make everything sweet
You’ll feel so good inside…inside
You can love your ride
Love your ride.”
One look at the three ladies performing the act, and you will surely love your ride, won’t you? The cheek of SBS!
You don’t need to be a Rocket Scientist — much less a Minister for Transport — to know that this long-and-winding road journey certainly requires the use of a bigger bus and much more space — not for standing, but for sitting!
Not necessarily a double-decker (knowing the constraints along the route) but the extra-long kind now being quite successfully used by SMRT.
Alternatively, SBS Transit could re-configure the bus interior to allow for more seating and reduce standing room, save for the space for one wheelchair passenger. Also, bring on more buses for this route and increase the frequency, please!
Sometimes I wonder what we are paying these Ministers obscene million-dollar salaries for, when we, the members of the public, are the ones wearing the thinking caps!
Seeing how Mr Lui Tuck Yew is the type of person who always believes in first-hand experience, I think he should give it a try.
He should stay standing throughout the above-mentioned journey, with two or three heavily-laden bags in his hands. Get the worst Malaysian or PRC driver in the SBS Transit’s infamous captains’ list. And Mr Lui can then choose to either do the balancing act for 21 minutes or the Dixieland Rock! That’s his choice!
Dixie Koh