What Everybody Should Know About Singapore’s Bus System

Be brave, take the bus!
Yes, I know what you think when you see these to nearly bursting packed old two story vehicles roaring past you, but sometimes they can be more efficient then expected and after two years, I recently discovered that they even take you to places you usually thought would only be accessible via cab.
(Read: What Everybody Should Know About Singapore’s Subway System)

Photo by Shahram Sharif

I Bet My Bus Just Left, Right?!

There is no timetable, yes, you read correctly. No timetable.

Coming from Europe I am used to have a nice precise list of down to the exact minute timings of when to expect the next bus to arrive. Here, rather then doing the same and facing the problem of having 95% delayed timings, the problem was solved through providing an “average frequency” instead of exact timings.

Means it comes down to “Line 65 comes in average every 7 minutes” instead of “Line 65: 11.23 – 11.30 – 11.37″.

This leaves you usually with the problem that when arriving at the busstop, you don’t know when the last bus departed, hence, if your “average waiting time” just began or if it is almost over.

Furthermore it gives the buses a rather relaxed handling of their punctuality, because who can get scolded if you fall out of the “average”! The word already implies that it is just an average calculated by a high and lows of timings. That means its not uncommon that you see the same bus line driving parallel on Singapore’s streets, with a following gap of 30 minutes until the next one decides to arrive.

Take Care Of Your Feet

If you managed to board the correct line, in the correct direction without having the bus just driving by because the driver decided it was too crowded in his vehicle already… the adventure begins.

First I should mention that the bus will NOT automatically stop at the designated bus terminals to pick you up, you have to flag them down, just like a cab. And if you are unlucky the bus driver will just overlook you and drive past.

Photo by Flying Cloud

What A Ride

The travel itself will be a mixture of elbow fighting, 5 different languages loudly mixing up in the hot and sticky air between your head and the too low situated roof of the bus. Everybody above 1.9m has to take care of not captivating himself while entering or exiting.

It is also considered extremely rood to eat or drink on board while it seems to be totally fine to cut your toe nails or listen to music louder then Linkin Park was allowed to be at their last concert in the Indoor Stadium.

Maps And Bus Numbers – The Riddle

With currently over 800 buses operating on 74 different routes, you will for sure… get lost.

Paired with the infrequently arrival and departure system and buses seemingly driving everywhere but not where you want to go, I leave the explanation and detailed listing of their routes and according bus numbers to the operator SMRT itself.

There is the official SMRT Bus e-guide, which easily lets you research on the bus numbers, routes, times, fares etc. I can really recommend it.

Tickets And Payment

There are three different ways of how you pay for your ticket to the nice and cheap sightseeing tour around Singapore’s island using public transportation.

• • Standard Ticket – Green Credit Card Sized Plastic Card
• • EZ-Link Ticket – Blue Credit Card Sized Plastic Card
• • Cash Ticket – Paper Ticket (only bus)

Once you board the bus you hold your EzyLink card at the reader machines either at the left or right (The system is the same as applied in the subway – MRT).

It will measure where you boarded the bus and when holding your card at the machines while exiting it will measure again and subtract the resp amount from your value. Now, saying that, there is no entry gate like in the MRT which holds you back if you don’t use your Ezylink card, which leads to far easier “forgetting” to do so, which again will lead to a fixed sum (much higher) that will be subtracted the next time you use your card.

Dont You Dare!

Having clean buses comes with a price. Well, in this case a pretty affordable. There are several things you shouldn’t do in the buses, connected to heavy fines (between 500$ and 5000$) if you cant listen/read properly what the many signs are telling you.

• • No Smoking
• • No Eating Or Drinking
• • No Flamable Goods
• • No Durian Fruits

More Information in our Guide / Blog

• GUIDE: Transportation Systems In Singapore (all details - tips - help - etc)
• BLOG: What Everybody Should Know About Singapore's Subway System

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About The Author:

AngryAngMo is a Blog / Guide about Singapore and its unique character, written by an Asia experienced 26 year young expat living and surviving in Singapore since years!
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