Driving epic fail. Getting lost for two hours is ridiculous.
Singapore is a small country with just 42km in length and 23 km in breadth. In two hours, even if you are driving at 40km/h, you can drive from Tuas to Changi and back to Tuas again or go round the entire Singapore island at least once if you are driving a wee bit faster.
If the China driver wanted to do some Singapore sight-seeing, he need not have to bring his passengers along mah:
[youtube url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh3yd1DqRk4&”]
The driver would have gotten away with this, but suay suay one of the passengers on board the particular SBS Transit Bus 52 was a TV news reporter. The reporter made sure the incident got prime time coverage in yesterday’s news (maybe it’s because the driver caused him to be late for work and he needed a good excuse).
SBS Transit, please support Singaporean workers. Hire more Singaporean Bus Captains who grew up here and are more familiar with our roads lah.
I think SBS Transit would also wish to have local bus captains. Long working hours and average remuneration just isn’t attracting locals.
I guess my question is, why didn’t the passengers just get off the bus? Did the driver refuse to let them do so? Or did they die die want to get their money’s worth?
Offer enough pay and welfare to cope with standard of living and locals will do the job. When increase pay of drivers, hopefully there will be no increase bus fares, as SBS had profited from advertising.
Kenneth, stop living in your ivory tower.
What Kenneth says is true. Standards of living are discouraging locals from taking low-end jobs because locals incur higher costs of living from involutnary CPF, housing loans and having children who stay in Singapore as well.
Still, we can’t help witty one-liners attacking others’ opinions blatantly without even having one own’s stand eh? Yes, I’m inviting your reply and flame.
Well DIECI, I happen to work for a HR company that deals with SBS Transit as a client and I can tell you that they are indeed actively sourcing for such ‘foreign talents’ as a priority. Beggars can’t be choosers right? I’m sure with the recession around the corner, Singaporeans will be more than willing to take up any job opportunities to support their families. Our bus drivers have always been locals for the past 50 years, I don’t see why that should change now.
Mark, I’m sure you have a “bird’s eye view” from the top i.e. being in the HR company controlling the ‘human flow’ into your client’s pool of employees. Bingo on the recession that’s coming in 6 months’ time too. But there seems to be a different set of opinions among Singaporeans about the choice of occupation as compared to what you’ve claimed. Ask the bus captains about their opinions when you take the bus before and after work, or when you see them drinking kopi at the bus interchanges. Ask the locals and foreigners alike. From what I see in your comment, I would think that you’ll get a pretty surprising feedback from the uncles and aunties (“our bus drivers have always been locals for the past 50 years”) . Go through the education demographics and job preferences of locals for the past 50 years too. You can find them as readily as the changing dating requirements of locals for the past decades.
Mark Chan, most people who work for HR companies are douche-bags.
“SBS Transit, please support Singaporean workers. Hire more Singaporean Bus Captains who grew up here and are more familiar with our roads lah.”
dude, you’ve been living in your ivory tower for too long, get out and see the real world! if you can hire Singaporeans to be bus captains, i’m sure SBS Transit will be willing to pay you a commission.
This came after Comfort Delgro increased the fare.. Something is telling……
@mark chan if you are “working with a HR company that deals with SBS Transit as a client” as you say, is it even professionally sound to post things like the above? I guess in the internet, anything goes, even professional integrity.
Firstly, anyone new could get lost. I’m Singaporean and I am no way familiar with the road because I main form was transportation is the MRT. Quite likely, a new bus driver is not likely to have a car or time for joy rides, and wouldn’t be familiar with all the roads.
I guess getting lost for 2 hours sounds too far-fetched, but as someone mentioned above, the passengers could have requested to get off the bus.
I feel that nationality has nothing to do with this. Also, this problem could be quite easily solved by giving new bus drivers the option of using GPS until they know their route well.
Sorry, I didn’t read my post before posting.
*roads
*my
“dude, you’ve been living in your ivory tower for too long, get out and see the real world! if you can hire Singaporeans to be bus captains, i’m sure SBS Transit will be willing to pay you a commission.”
^Totally agree with Roy…
Totally agree with Celeste that it’s not an issue of national
Totally agree with Celeste that it’s not an issue of nationality. My wife (who’s been
driving for years) could still get lost driving in an unfamiliar part of Singapore. The more pertinent point is whether the bus company provided adequate training for the driver before letting him go out on his own.
@Roy and @sanj: If you consider HDB flat an ivory tower, then I live in one.
Firstly anyone from oversea,work permit/s-pass/PR/Citizen should not be easily passed off as a service provider in the public (driving big truck/bus/taxi/van) where ever the safety of the public is concerned. (and their service quality is far from our local uncles & aunties)
-I have come across 1 violent bus driver who forced their way out of the bus lane , and even pointed middle finger when i horned him, i was very sure he is not a local when he speak.(1 out of many incidents )
-This people is so thick skinned/no manners/violent /rude, they only know how to make the vehicle move ,move faster,stop,reverse,park, but did they go through courtesy programme like our olden days.Did they know our roads well can they speak english ??
-Stall holder (again not local) got mad and want to hit the customer, when customer only wanted to heat up the noodles. ( bring down service quality,causing violent act in public) downgrade Singapore.