I STRONGLY agree with Ms Rachel Yang (“Why I like my long bus rides”, March 31). I also prefer to ride on the bus than the MRT, especially on long-distance journeys, though it may not be the faster option.

Most of the time, I am able to get a seat on the bus. The aircondition works all the time, enhancing the experience. Best of all, a bus will take me nearer to my destination, while an MRT train may not.

In contrast, one can hardly get a seat on the train, even during non-peak hours. During peak hours, one has to fight to squeeze into the train. After you succeed, you have to fight just to get your fair share of oxygen:

The ventilation on board is usually poor, and it’s usually warm and stuffy on the train.   [Sounds  like  in  3rd World country ?]

It’s all made worse if the person standing next to you has morning breath.

Although SMRT announced that it was adding additional train trips from March 22, I have not seen a significant improvement during the morning peak hours. With 11 more Circle Line stations set to open on April 17, will the network be able to cope with the expected surge in ridership?

Meanwhile, the authorities are already planning to further load the trains with bus passengers...  [trying  to  Overload MRT?]

We also have to consider our ageing population.

With the “hub-and-spoke” system, the elderly will be made to walk even more. They already have to walk when swapping trains or swapping from buses to the MRT stations; now they may have to alight just to get from Point A to Point B via the bus.

I urge the LTA to consider alternatives to terminating any bus routes with high passenger loads, “cross-country” or otherwise.

And any costs incurred due to proposed changes should not be passed down to the commuters, in the form of paying an additional fare to get on board the second half of what used to be a single bus journey.

I REFER to “Coming to the end of the long route” (March 29).

I am a student who uses a public bus on a daily basis.  While my house is just a few bus stops away from the MRT, I prefer to take the direct “cross-country” bus from the stop just outside my house to school, although the bus ride takes me approximately 15 to 20 minutes longer to reach my destination.

According to the SBS Transit website, there are 77 stops along the route my bus takes from interchange to interchange.  If the Land Transport Authority (LTA) were to split this route into two shorter ones, the bus might not take me direct to my school and I’d need to transfer — which is very troublesome and defeats the original purpose for me taking the bus as opposed to the train.

There are a few reasons why I prefer the bus. 

First, I always manage to find seats on the bus and am able to catch “power naps” on the bus. 

Second, the bus takes me right to the doorstep of my school and I never get caught in the rain.  There is no covered walkway from the train station.

Third, a single bus ride fare is cheaper than a single MRT ride, more so when I need to take a bus just to get to the train. 

Fourth, bus services usually start earlier and end later than train services.

As such, I hope the LTA will not stop or cut short this bus route and other longer routes that bus-riders like myself enjoy taking.  If the LTA still thinks that this bus route is too long, I hope that proper market research and surveys are carried out, and that all alternatives will be considered and exhausted.

PS:  the Student justifies through personal experience better than the minister saying things from imagination.

Productivity, efficacy, efficiency, economy =  More Output / Less Input.

Cutting one route into two DOUBLES the INPUT

Reducing distance per trip into HALF is tO  HALF the OUTPUT

Productivity, Efficacy, Efficiency, Economy REDUCED to a QUARTER FRACTION.

# Manager who increases COSTS and INFALTION should have OWN  SALARY  REDUCED  BY  THE  SAME  EFFECT  IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND  THE  EFFECTS  OF  MANAGEMENT  #

Please  HiRE  TALENT  and  nOt  tOlent