Daze of Our Bus Enthusiasts
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Hey guys, I think I want to start a new series of books named "Daze of Our Bus Enthusiasts", where we share our experiences going out and taking K310UDs and stuff as bus enthusiasts. One book will consist of short stories regarding these experiences, and a few facts that the general public usually miss. Feel free to share your experiences below! Here's my short story:
"Too-For-O-Pee"
IT WAS a normal Friday, the fifth of September. That day was a holiday for me, because it was Teacher's Day and I was a student at the time. The clock struck five, and I decided to go on another crusade of my own riding the unridden. This time, I decided to take a familiar yet intriuging route: 240P.
I had just got off the 154 bus at the Lakeside MRT station, and a few minutes later 240P came. I flagged it down behind the 98 bus and decided to see the bus in it's full glory for a brief moment. A ZhongTong Sunny LCK6103G. What a waste. I hopped on, along with two other passengers, and off we went.
The interior of the ZhongTong was bland and boring. Depression isn't even the word to describe how I felt. All I saw was grey, grey, and more grey. The airconditioning at the back where I sat was abysmal. You had to sit in between two seats to feel the wind, and even then it's weaker than girls when they get emotional. "Door closing" was gramatically incorrect, and it was located where in most SMRT buses you would see "BUS STOPPING". Not a pretty sight. The "BUS STOPPING" sign at the front was an LED ticker, indicating that Tong Tar was full of tar wasting money on signages like that for a better choice seen in SBS Transit and SMRT buses. The whole set-up really felt like a third-rate coach bus that you get on to go to Malaysia or something, with a single door at the front and a double door at the middle. All was wrong with this bus.
As we continued along the route, no one got off or got on anywhere except for Boon Lay Shopping Centre, and it was very desolate. No one talking, no repeats of Just for Laughs Gags, no fascinating sound engine, nothing. Figures, I thought, given the speakers and TV seen on the bus. The end of the line was the strangest part, however, when I didn't know I had to leave the bus. Just after the junction along Jurong West Street 64, the bus stopped, the only other guy walked off the steps, and the driver raised his hand, lowered it, and raised it again. What the hell, I thought, wasn't the bus supposed to continue back to Lakeside? After all, there was the word "LOOP" in block letters at the front with the laminated sign. I gave in and got off. The doors were shut, and the bus sped off. My feelings were at the bottom of the barrel then, and I caught the train home.
And here's a fun fact!
Did you know that 42, as of now, is the only bus service to follow a figure-eight? It starts it's journey at Kembangan MRT Station, goes through it's first half of it's route, stops opposite where it started, goes through it's second half, and is back at square one, resembling a figure-eight!
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LOL, ever did a thread like this before... So sad it expired.
Anyway, will be giving a story soon. -
Originally posted by SBS9067A:
Hey guys, I think I want to start a new series of books named "Daze of Our Bus Enthusiasts", where we share our experiences going out and taking K310UDs and stuff as bus enthusiasts. One book will consist of short stories regarding these experiences, and a few facts that the general public usually miss. Feel free to share your experiences below! Here's my short story:
"Too-For-O-Pee"
IT WAS a normal Friday, the fifth of September. That day was a holiday for me, because it was Teacher's Day and I was a student at the time. The clock struck five, and I decided to go on another crusade of my own riding the unridden. This time, I decided to take a familiar yet intriuging route: 240P.
I had just got off the 154 bus at the Lakeside MRT station, and a few minutes later 240P came. I flagged it down behind the 98 bus and decided to see the bus in it's full glory for a brief moment. A ZhongTong Sunny LCK6103G. What a waste. I hopped on, along with two other passengers, and off we went.
The interior of the ZhongTong was bland and boring. Depression isn't even the word to describe how I felt. All I saw was grey, grey, and more grey. The airconditioning at the back where I sat was abysmal. You had to sit in between two seats to feel the wind, and even then it's weaker than girls when they get emotional. "Door closing" was gramatically incorrect, and it was located where in most SMRT buses you would see "BUS STOPPING". Not a pretty sight. The "BUS STOPPING" sign at the front was an LED ticker, indicating that Tong Tar was full of tar wasting money on signages like that for a better choice seen in SBS Transit and SMRT buses. The whole set-up really felt like a third-rate coach bus that you get on to go to Malaysia or something, with a single door at the front and a double door at the middle. All was wrong with this bus.
As we continued along the route, no one got off or got on anywhere except for Boon Lay Shopping Centre, and it was very desolate. No one talking, no repeats of Just for Laughs Gags, no fascinating sound engine, nothing. Figures, I thought, given the speakers and TV seen on the bus. The end of the line was the strangest part, however, when I didn't know I had to leave the bus. Just after the junction along Jurong West Street 64, the bus stopped, the only other guy walked off the steps, and the driver raised his hand, lowered it, and raised it again. What the hell, I thought, wasn't the bus supposed to continue back to Lakeside? After all, there was the word "LOOP" in block letters at the front with the laminated sign. I gave in and got off. The doors were shut, and the bus sped off. My feelings were at the bottom of the barrel then, and I caught the train home.
And here's a fun fact!
Did you know that 42, as of now, is the only bus service to follow a figure-eight? It starts it's journey at Kembangan MRT Station, goes through it's first half of it's route, stops opposite where it started, goes through it's second half, and is back at square one, resembling a figure-eight!
Nicely written. I don't dare to take the P buses. They are so bad (most of them). But very right observation. Have noticed many times 240P gets max 7-8 pax at Lakeside MRT. Guess 240 comes at a good frequency, coupled with 246 in between. Hence, people dont mind waiting for 240/246 rather than taking the 240P variant.
The only way 240P can get more pax is if like 291P/293P, people are forced to take the bus.
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i would make a story about the famous Mr 228X and his madness for Citaros.. and also how Mr Busanalyzer load countings!
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Originally posted by BusAnalayzer:
Nicely written. I don't dare to take the P buses. They are so bad (most of them). But very right observation. Have noticed many times 240P gets max 7-8 pax at Lakeside MRT. Guess 240 comes at a good frequency, coupled with 246 in between. Hence, people dont mind waiting for 240/246 rather than taking the 240P variant.
The only way 240P can get more pax is if like 291P/293P, people are forced to take the bus.
Thanks for the compliment. Next time maybe we can have 240P with passenger vans! Not!
Anyway, how are Premium 556 and 557 doing under private operators? Are they doing okay?
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If you don't mind, I will share a bit of my overseas experiences here.
I attended an enthusiast event in Perth, Australia. This is a farewell event for the closure of the old Wellington Street Bus Station, which now a new underground station is being built in its place.
I was surprised to find that I was the youngest at the event. Most are retired employees from the industry, most former drivers and others retired operational and even managerial staff. Many are aged 60 and above, have a lot of experience under their belt and know just about anything you can ask. They pool their knowledge and resources together and have an active preservation society.
The state government supports their work to some degree, to the extent that one of the Mercedes-Benz Citaro Hydrogen Cell bus was transferred to them for preservation.
The level of detail and care they have for these preserved buses is impressive. The first three vehicles at the front were brought out by the preservation society for this event. The final articulated O305G at the rear was a chartered bus. They had the blessing of the public transport authority to host this event at Wellington Street Bus Station - of course it helped that they are well-connected!
If anything, my experience from the event tells me that community in Singapore has a very long, long way to go before it can reach the same level as Perth.
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