I was so furious yesternight that I was tempted to smash some windscreens.
My journey home from work is usually an 1 hr+ affair. I need to walk 10 minutes to the bus stop, wait 20 mins for the fucking 97, which takes 40 minutes to reach jurong, then I will walk 5 minutes home.
(30 minutes if it is after 10pm, which is the time I am leaving office these days.)
21:00 - Still in office. I heard thunder, and cursed inwardly because the walk to the bus stop is unsheltered.
21:10 - Jiahui on 933 informed that yesterday, 8 aug, is the Fireworks Festival (I cant believe there is really a website on it, I just thought I will google it) and fireworks are exploding in the skies over the esplanade.
Cursed outloud (I was the only one left in the office then, everyone had left) on why people are gathering at esplanade watching fireworks while I am in the company watching my monitor. (Will blog on why in a separate entry.)
21:50 - Finally finished targetted workload, and prepares to leave office.
22:00 - Switched off toilet lights, switched off aircon, locked backdoor, switched off all office lights, armed security system, let myself out and locked the door.
22:10 - Reached the bus stop, and wonder why is there so many people at busstop? Remembered it is still the ghost month then realised ghosts probably dont wear red and white.
22:15 - Bus not here. Other buses swarm the bus stop but no 97 in sight.
22:10 - Bus not here.
22:25 - Single deck 97 sardined with people zoomed past without stopping. Ghosts? I cant tell, cos it was too fast and the interiors were merely shadows.
22:30 - No 97 in sight, and it suddenly dawned to me that the last 97 was so packed because it was ferrying the crowd from esplanade who just finish watching the fireworks!
Since 97 is a loop service, I decided to cross the roads to take 97 along the longer route, which doesnt really matter because I wanted to sleep on the bus.
(The green star indicated the first bus stop I was at, the purple indicated the second.)
(Actually I have to walk past robinson road to get to raffles way to take my bus normally, so it means I backtracked to get to the second bus stop.)
22:35 - Bus not here. Only too usual, I will roll my eyes in disbelief if 97 ever comes within 5 minutes reaching the bus stop.
The service is so irregular that I once kept a journal to tell me what time I manage to board the service. After seeing 10:08, 10:15, 9:55, 10:11, 10:24, 10:16, 9:58 and other strings of random timing, I decided to give up the recording routine after 15 days. I threw the journal on to the floor of the bus and kick it under one of the chairs.
The service comes on an average of once every 20 minute, and is so highly irregular that I brace myself for 20minutes wait everynight, or 4 songs on the receiver.
22:40 - Bus not here.
22:45 - Bus not here. Folds arm in irritation.
22:50 - Bus not here. Man in front of me already moved further down the road to try to hitch a taxi. I know he is waiting for 97 too because that bus stop only serves 10, 70, 97, 100, 107 and 196 according to the bus stop stand, and all the other buses had already past by at least once in the past 20 minutes.
22:55 - Bus not here. I began to talk to myself because I was going mad.
23:00 - Joins man in the wait for the taxi, while looking out for bus too. Taxis not stopping, man still waiting. Bus STILL not here.
23:05 - I gave up and decided to take mrt. I walked down robinson road, away from callum road. (Orange in diagram indicates the mrt station, and it is really further than it looks, but the entrance on land is there.) 97 travels along robinson road by right, but no sight of it even as I walked by the road and turn into the mrt station.
23:10 - "BOON LAY : 6 MINUTES"
23:15 - Board mrt, there's a stench of sweat from all the people who had just return from partying. TAMADE. There is no seats obviously, so I stood and curse for the whole time.
23:40 - Finally reached jurong east mrt station after a torturing 25 mins journey. The journey in the morning is only 20minutes as far as I timed.
23:50 - Reaches home after 10 minutes walk from the mrt station.
110 minutes to get home. I cant believe it. The public transport system is so unreliable that I am at a loss of words to describe my disappointment.
Price hike? Fuck you.
No comments:
Post a Comment