Bus tales

There has been much talk about public transport of late, with higher costs, more ERP gantries and the like.

The latest is that some bus services are being introduced to duplicate the MRT routes to reduce congestion at MRT stations during peak periods.

It set me thinking about buses in old Singapore and what it was like for a student totally dependent on public buses.

When I was in Sec 1 in the mid '70s, I took public buses to and from school alone every day.

The buses then were already under SBS I think, but they were rickety old things with only one doorway.

Note, I said doorWAY and not DOOR. The buses then did not have doors, or if they did, the doors were never closed.

There would be a bus conductor who sold tickets and kept order on each bus. I won't say much about the tickets as there is information and pictures of old style bus tickets on several websites.

In those days buzzers were not at convenient spots all through the bus, but rather there was a long line down the centre of the ceiling and you could push anywhere along the line to sound the alert if you wished to alight.

Short people and kids who could not reach this would have to alert the conductor who would sound the bell.

The buses were crowded at peak hours (Oh how the times have not changed). But unlike now, when you cram into the bus and let the door close behind you as you stand on the step, I remember clinging on to the doorway for dear life, more than once, I might add, as my school bag flew in the wind and the bus hurtled down the road.

We learnt quickly to strap all our belongings securely into our school bags (sling bags rather than backpacks then) and to keep both hands free for the ride home!

It cost 10 cents for students then, and bus stamps were introduced at about that time too: $4 a month. I had to go all the way to MacKenzie Road to the SBS headquarters to buy my bus stamps then.

A woman sat at a table outside the main entrance selling the stamps for a few days each month.

Later, the stamps were sold at various outlets around Singapore.

Bus rides were a fact of life. And the best deal was to get a window seat and let the wind cool you through the open windows. No air-con in those days. But if it rained, the windows would leak terribly!

When double-deckers were introduced, I loved sitting by the window on the upper deck, plugged into my Walkman (precursor to the MP3 player) and just enjoy the ride and the view!

These days, when I get hot and bothered about crowded buses, I remember the old days, and today's bus rides don't seem so bad after all.