Students frustrated with SBS route 151

Juliet Huang | juliethuang@nus.edu.sg
the ridge news
A NUSSU Publication

Feb. 10, 2008

Story Highlights:

• NUS students complain long waiting and traveling time for SBSTransit route 151
• NUSSU set up IVLE discussion forum to collect feedbacks
• Buses held up along Clementi Road, where three major institutions are
• Many students do not move to the rear of the buses
• NUS shuttle service possible but depends, says NUSSU

SBS Transit route 151 is holding the National University of Singapore’s students back, especially for those living in the Bukit Timah or Clementi Area.

The route plies from Hougang Central Interchange to Kent Ridge Crescent.

NUS students who use the route 151 said that the bus service has long waiting intervals.

“The bus can be very crowded and slow, especially during peak hours,” said Darrell G., a second-year arts and social sciences student who boards the bus at King Albert Park.

A discussion forum named “SBS 151″ has been set up in Intergrated Virtual Learning Environment (IVLE) by the NUS Students’ Union to address students’ concern.

Ho Junyi, Assistant Welfare Secretary of NUSSU, said: “the motivation behind the forum is primarily to make up for the lack of solid data to back the complainants’ concerns.”

“We figured that it (the IVLE Forum) would provide an excellent platform for affected students to voice out all their concerns and problems regarding this bus service,” he said.

Some suggestions include changing the route and bus type. Other suggestions include installing WiFi for some of the buses.

One commenter by the name of Tess said, “I take the bus along Clementi road, after sunset way, which is just three bus stops away from NUS. Although it is a very short distance, the time for me to reach NUS can be up to one hour.”

But others like “Squid” also pointed out that: “this is a complex problem which a simple solution cannot solve.”

Based on compiled feedback from the forum, NUSSU will decide which course of action is the best to take. The Office of Estate and Development (OED) has agreed to facilitate possible negotiations with relevant third parties.

the ridge investigates the factors that contribute to the laggard of the bus service.

Route 151 transports students to and from three major institutions — Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore Institute of Management and NUS.

As a result, students from three schools are vying for places on the bus. This crowd leads to traffic holdups, thus slowing down the bus along the journey.

And common courtesy issues prevail in our student population; there are many who are hesitant to move to the back of the bus, resulting in bus captains who zoom past the crucial bus stops along the route.

A request to interview SBS Transit Corporate Communications office regarding the public bus service was met with silence.

But an officer in-charge of bus routes at Kent Ridge Terminal confirmed that it is along Clementi Road where the number of commuters significantly increases.

He also mentioned the efforts put in to shorten the journey for passengers living in the west area, referring to SBS 151e.

SBS 151e travels a direct route from Hougang Interchange to Clementi Road, forgoing the stops along Jalan Toa Payoh and Bukit Timah Road.

Would NUS follow NP’s initiative in offering shuttle service from Hougang, Jalan Bukit Anak and Clementi?

Ho pointed out that there could be such a possibility.

“It is premature to spell out the exact measure that we are going to do now because it will really depend on the complaints gathered,” he said.