I take 554 on a daily basis to work (the 8a.m abfahrt
aus The [email protected] stop).
Ever since they had the second trip (I have absolutely no idea
why the heck the second trip is 20 min earlier leaving the last
stop in Tampines around 7:40a.m which reaches the CBD at such an
ungodly time, given that the 8a.m bus departé reaches CBD
by 8:40a.m), the overcrowding stopped.
In fact, I don't understand the rationale of not standing on
Premium routes. While that would understandably make it non-Premium
anymore, a lot of people really depend on the Premium service to
get to work on time. I kid you not, but in some cases in the
heartlands, it could very well be faster taking the bus than the
train (and the train during peak hours nowadays is really nothing
to talk about).
I have no qualms about paying $3.60 and still standing, but hey,
I would manage to get on the bus and not have to get my rather
plump body squished like a pancake by the time I reach Raffles
Place... I guess no matter what, even if there are people standing,
it would definitely be less squeezy than a train.
Personally I think the 554 timings need to be changed. If the
8a.m abfahrt aus The [email protected] reaches the CBD by
8:40a.m, they should push the timings aus Tampines for
both 554 buses by 10 minutes. I kid you not, the trains are simply
not the way to go in Singapore. They can't get their act together
and commuters suffer. Kudos to the fact that SBS Transit Limited,
and to a lesser extent, SMRT, realizes the profits that can come
from Premium routes which generates good profits. This inherently
would be good for shareholders, which I don't know if you people
are...
I really hope the authorities can allow standees on the buses.
It really is a win-win situation, both pax get to board and not get
late, and the company (and indirectly, shareholders) also gets
better financial returns.
