50 Turned Away at First Trial Shuttle Bus Service

Some 50 students out of the 130 who turned up to take Monday’s trial shuttle bus service could not board due to a lack of seats.

By A Preethi Devi

FULL CAPACITY: Students being turned away at the pick-up point, just next to Tampines MRT Station.
PHOTO: KEVIN NICHOLAS WONG

About 50 students were denied seats on the university’s first trial shuttle bus service from Tampines MRT Station to NTU on 18 Aug, said the Office of Housing and Auxiliary Services (HAS).

The overwhelming turnout caused frustration among those who were turned away.

Samuel Tay, 22, a first-year student from the National Institute of Education, said that he “queued for 20 minutes but did not manage to board the bus”, given that seating is on a first-come-first-serve basis.

“I didn’t expect so many people wanting to take the shuttle bus. Demand for the service is obviously higher than NTU expected it to be,” he added.

The one-way shuttle bus service, launched by HAS, runs at 7.15am and 7.30am on weekdays. It aims to help students who live in the eastern part of Singapore travel to school conveniently.

Each bus seats 40 people and standing is not allowed on the journeys.

Some students also shared concerns about the lack of clear signs indicating where to queue for the shuttle bus.

“I think it was unfair towards those who reached earlier, but didn’t manage to board the bus because they joined the ‘proper’ queue too late,” said Tay.

Despite that, students who managed to board the buses expressed support for the service, citing the free service and significant decrease in travel time.

“It’s definitely more convenient for those living in the east to travel to school now, and once we’re on the bus, we’re guaranteed a seat on our journey,” said Adeline Chew, 22, a second-year student from the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (SPMS).

“The journey was smooth and travel time was just nice — about one hour,” said Craig Chan, 21, a first-year student from the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

Most students the Nanyang Chronicle spoke to said that they would leave their homes two hours beforehand when travelling from Tampines to NTU the usual way — by public transport.

They also suggested improvements to the system, such as deploying additional buses at more timings.

“It would be preferable to increase the frequency of buses, with a wider time frame, such as from 7am to 8.30am, similar to Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s shuttle bus services,” said Chew.

“To improve the service, I think that seats on the buses could be booked and the number of slots be recorded on a platform. This helps people make informed choices on the route to school and it would also facilitate the queuing process,” said Elmo Huang, 22, a second-year student from SPMS.

Another trial shuttle bus service from Choa Chu Kang MRT Station, which will serve students living in the northern part of Singapore, is scheduled to begin on 1 Sep.

It will run at four timings on weekdays — 7.40am, 7.50am, 8.00am and 8.10am.

“The timings are chosen to allow our students to arrive on time for their early morning classes, with the Choa Chu Kang service having more trips due to higher demand anticipated from students living in the northern region,” said Associate Professor Kwok Kian Woon, Associate Provost (Student Life).

“The university will monitor the demand during this trial period before deciding whether to deploy more buses and extend the services to other timings,” he added.