What is Bus Spotting?

last SG · 2008-09-20T23:47:35+00:00

Professionalism n. The skill and high standards of behaviour expected of a professional person. (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)It is a great pit...

SBS9816E SG

Folks

Let me post you guys a serious question.

To you guys, what is the REAL meaning of Bus Spotting?

In what ways Bus Spotting are to be carried out in a professional manner?

SBS2695H SG

I shall share what "bus spotting" means to me. Bus joyrides and phototaking trips will be considered bus spottings to me. But in a "professional" manner, I probably have not achieved that yet and I guess it means bus spotting in that manner is spotting a very long list of cameos with a pen and notebook, spotted rare cameos and you have the arrival/departure timings of certain buses in advance that you wish to catch. Also when you rode/spotted many buses in a day, is considered to be in a professional manner. Something professional also can be creating a timetable for a certain Service. It may also include conversations with BCs.

Merczrox SG

when i go joyriding,i hope to see special/rare cameos.or moniter the fleet of a svc to see if my favourite bus is still inside it or not.try to detect missing buses from the fleet.i so far havent done anything proffessional yet.

service_238 SG

Bus spotting goes back a long way. It is best to learn through experience. This is useful in spotting cameos.

It seems apparant to me that some of you here are not exactly sure how to catch a rare cameo, especially so if the route is long.

First, the spotting of the cameo is sighting and sent out as "SBS xxxx on sv xx at yy Rd towards Town". Town usually means the CBD area. Marina Centre Terminal, Shenton Way Terminal and New Bridge Rd Terminal are also considered part of town. Say S12 towards town also means towards Chinatown/new bridge rd terminal.

Another form of the sms is "SBS xxxx on sv xx departs xx terminal at 2323hrs"

Next, you need to determine your photo point (if u want to snap the bus) or your pong-ing point (if you want to board the bus). Time is consumed if you are intersecting the route from somewhere that is out of the way. e.g. spotting a cameo on S186 and you are at Tampines.

Along with that point, you need to determine how long the cameo takes to reach your intersecting point. This is very important to avoid disappointment. If there's a fellow enthusiast who is onboard is an advantage for you.

Your calculation of the journey time is essential to avoid wasting too much time waiting.

To add on, if you want to catch 2 cameos, the challenge gets higher because you need to more or less understand the schedules of the 2 buses and then work out a plan to get both targets. The challenge goes to another level if the 2 cameos DO NOT intersect each other.

I have some at least 4 years experience in bus spotting, though for now I have reduced greatly in it. I have kept myself up to date by joyriding every now and then and prior knowledge in my spotting in previous years.

The key thing to determing journey times is to experience it yourself, be it peak or non peak, weekday or weekend. Joyriding on them would more or less give you an idea how long it takes for a service to get from Pt A to Pt B.

I noticed there are some of you who travels everywhere in Singapore like its your backyard. That's good but it would be better if you take home something that you learn during your travelling. There are others who roam within a certain area (alot of you rather) and seldom travel to other places, especially the NORTH and WEST.

As the year end holidays are around the corner, it would be good if you do some joyriding, experience how to spot a bus using these techniques and you would find yourself gaining more knowledge in the whole process. 1 is you won't lose out since the knowledge gained is for yourself, not others. 2 is you would not be reliant on others to help you calculate journey time since you can calculate it yourself, and well as other matters.

I strongly encourage people who are interested to come forward and post questions relating to bus spotting.

sBs_boy SG

But in a "professional" manner, I probably have not achieved that yet and I guess it means bus spotting in that manner is spotting a very long list of cameos with a pen and notebook, spotted rare cameos and you have the arrival/departure timings of certain buses in advance that you wish to catch. Also when you rode/spotted many buses in a day, is considered to be in a professional manner. Something professional also can be creating a timetable for a certain Service. It may also include conversations with BCs.

To be professional is to have the ability to...

- spot long list of camoes (with a pen and notebook - are we in the 80s?).
- have the arrival/departure timings of certain buses in advance that you wish to catch.
- rode/spotted many buses in a day

you call that professional ??

Someone once spotted 80+ camoes in a day. There was once i did 35 rides in about 12hrs covering all SDs models of SBST. Does this means that im professional in this case ?

SBS2695H SG

To be professional is to have the ability to...

- spot long list of camoes (with a pen and notebook - are we in the 80s?).
- have the arrival/departure timings of certain buses in advance that you wish to catch.
- rode/spotted many buses in a day

you call that professional ??

Someone once spotted 80+ camoes in a day. There was once i did 35 rides in about 12hrs covering all SDs models of SBST. Does this means that im professional in this case ?

In the past I used to use my handphone to record down cameos but there was an incident when I accidentally deleted my list of cameos. Then I turned to using a notebook and pen which allows me to record down faster instead of pressing like mad on the handphone. Of all, I will put the notebook securely into my bag when not recording in such a way that I will only lose my list of cameos unless I lose my bag.

service_238 SG

From the start i spot using handphone. Never pen and paper. Its a matter of how well you use your handphone to your advantage. btw the model i used was N6610i. Old, durable and reliable.

Oceane SG

Above that all, if you don't know what are the perm statuses of most buses, how are you going to guess if that's a cameo? Blindly copy everything down?

My experience with catching special cameos on long routes are that...

1) Determine the nature of the shift of the bus. Is it A/P, S, E, T, or jump-bus?

2) Determine the front few buses & the back bus. This is essential as a backup in case you make a mistake for step 1, or if the service has jump-bus system since a P shift bus can jump to an S shift bus and vice versa. Note that some of the buses in front may be S, E or T shift buses that off service after reaching their destination to go back depot. As such, if you're catching a cameo from 5pm onwards, do note that. Usually catching cameos after 8pm should be no problem as all S, E or T shift buses would have gone back to depot for the day.

3) Determine the time it takes for the bus to go out and come back. This helps if you miss the cameo and you still wish to catch it somewhere else. Then you can plan your spotting place backwards instead of always waiting at the interchange.

4) Plan where you want to catch the bus. This is essential. One error and you may just miss the bus. Say for example, you want to catch a certain DD on 58 that has left Bishan at least 30 minutes ago. If you decide to go along its route to catch it, you must plan where should you wait the shortest time such that 30 minutes is the time it takes to go to PSR, break and come back. If you go ahead by a stop, you could have just missed it. One way to check is that if you see the front bus, immediately alight at the next stop as the next bus would be the one you're waiting for. Actually Sv58's route is not very long, lol.

Feel free to add on. This question has many long answers. Lol.

Scania N113CRB l0v3r SG

Same as mi using Pen and paper to write down cameos.When joyriding end. I would tear half the paper and give to Merczrox.

SBS9888Y SG

everyone has their own style. therefore the responses here serve as a rough guide for everyone. use what you feel is comfortable for yourself.

the main point is that it definitely takes time before you can spot cameos, determine travel times, etc. which i feel you can learn from some of the more seasoned members here or if you have the passion, dig it out yourself which i recommend.

well its because when you explore on your own, you learn more things and whats more you apply them at much ease and would want to share about certain stuffs you found out on to the other bus enthusiasts around you.

happy spotting!

16/f/lonely SG

I never bother about such things.

I take whatever sights come.

SBS9888Y SG

I never bother about such things.

I take whatever sights come.

party pooper. lol.

16/f/lonely SG

party pooper. lol.

Which explains why I always lag behind in deployments.

Roderick a.k.a Guai Kia SG

whoa!you all explain till so chim….“i blur liao.. for me is,spot cameos and post only rare cameos,i dont post like a dm3500 from 105 cameo 51,i dont think is rare,rare most exciting mah,like UD on 171(happened),B9 on 62 taking chiong bc’s bus is a joy to me=D i save cameos as draft in my phone..
jon super special de,modified calculator to save cameos

off_service SG

In what ways Bus Spotting are to be carried out in a professional manner?

Don't be a nuisance to others. Being considerate to other commuters is very important, especially when a large group is at a location or on a bus.

Keep calm. Don't be so excited to see a cameo that one will exclaim loudly or start running to the bus (read: iJournalist). We don't need the whole world to know that is a cameo. Instead people will give that look.

If cameo spotting, try to be fair and spread info around. Someone may just happen to be the saviour for the time and place to catch the bus. A bus enthusiast can never work alone unless his brain is a processor and also a storage device. A bus enthusiast is also not omni present.

One very important point is never, ever be late especially for special cameos if doing group spotting. First, the bus won't wait, secondly the late comer might cause the whole group to miss and thirdly you never know if the bus will be early. This is one point that many people are still guilty of.

Another thing is when spotting in a big group and there is not much information on where the bus is, group work helps alot. Divide the people into few groups and station at various points along the route. It will help to cut down unnecessary waiting times and also easier for each other to move the correct direction or place to catch the bus.

While I won't go into the "how" of spotting, I think the conduct of the bus enthusiasts performing the spotting is very important.

And yes, professional manner doesn't mean the most knowledgable.

nenepokey SG

how did he go and modify the calculator?

Ajen SG

TS.. why not you test the bus fans..

like Bus Spotting Examination Source-Base Question?

lol

sbs&tibs SG

My opinions.

Bus spottings - Spotting cameo buses, special buses and other buses as well. Most of the time priority spottings goes to the first two factors mentioned.

Joy riding - I use it to kill time, as well as to learn about different routes and environment and understand some conditions. It is not just about experiencing the performance of the bus.

Bus may be a wierd hobby to many people. That's why it is important to behave yourself in public, be it joyriding or photo taking, we should not attract so much attentions. Cases like talking loudly onboard the bus, screaming out when there's a cameo, running forward to be the first to capture the pics of buses, such kiasu bhehaviour are considered unappropriate.

When you are joyriding with other bus fans you met by coincidence or with purpose, please, it isn't a session for partying. When you complain about students misbehaving in buses, what about you?

Running so fast to chase after a photo of a bus. Does it give you credits when you are the first to post in forums?

Screaming when you heard or saw a rare cameo? Relax! The bus won't run away. It is about whether if this bus comes in your way or not. Cannot catch don't catch lah, ask someone else who are likely to be riding on that bus or camping for a photo. You won't die if you don't ride on that bus or get a pic. Someone else may have it. Need you be so kiasu? Or even hide those cameos to yourself, only you know and own the world? If you are really desperate to chase cameos, please, remember the word "safety". Dash across the road just for a bus, what if you get knock down, missed the bus and injured yourself, worth it?

Know a BC. So what if you know and wants to talk? BC has to drive and ensure safety of the passengers and other vehicles. Talk so loud and attract attentions? Just take a seat or wait until the BC have a break, and have a short chat. BCs are working and you are not!

If you really want to know the exact location of the bus, ask around and see if anyone knows, and estimate the location and time for you to ride the bus. Try learning the full journey time of a route and it makes life easier to make approximations.

A hobby is something you are passionate about and refer to them as pastimes. Relax, missing a bus isn't the end of the world. Don't be so crazy and obsessed. Why hang around Singapore and spot all the cameos? How does a long list of cameo benefits? Does that mean you win? No, right? Go around Singapore just to collect one big list of cameo? Get a life!

Though I do spot cameos, I don't bother remebering or copying down all the cameos, especially common cameos.

I agree with off_service that you needn't be very smart to be professional. Rather, it is the behaviour and impression you give to others. There may be some unusual hobbies others take up. Would you like to see them behaving crazily over those hobbies? No, again.

Exercise some self control.

Cheers.

SBS 9613Z SG