Passengers frustrated after being denied entry to new 30-seater SBS 'premium' bus --
 

An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

Passengers frustrated after being denied entry to new 30-seater SBS 'premium' bus -- where standing is not allowed
Posted on 16 April 2015 | 689 views | 2 comments



Stomper Ben said several passengers were left frustrated when they were denied entry to a premium bus service because the operator SBS Transit had downsized from a 46-seater bus to a 30-seater.

Also, according to the Stomper, the bus driver repeatedly told commuters that there is a strict no-standing rule on the bus.

The Stomper said:

"Yesterday (Apr 15) at about 8.10am, several commuters were frustrated because they were not allowed to board the SBS transit premium bus 564.

"This premium bus only runs one trip a day and usually, an old bus with 46 seats is used.

"However, a newer 30-seater bus was used yestersay and it caused great unhappiness with passengers as the bus driver denied them boarding.

"He had said it was LTA restriction that standing is not allowed on premium buses.

"Some passengers eventually alighted in frustration and hitched a cab ride instead.

"Hopefully, there will be no repeats of this tomorrow."

Videos sent in by the Stomper show several people who had to get off the bus after the driver repeated the no-standing rule -- but not before protesting.

The Straits Times reported that two Mandarin-speaking passengers berated the driver and his company for not properly catering to passenger load, and demanded that another bus be dispatched immediately.

In defence, SBS Transit said that, based on its records, the service had an average of 35 passengers.

Company spokesman Tammy Tan said: "The old 46-seater was removed from service as it was due to be scrapped.

"A new 35-seater bus was to have been put in its place but, due to exigencies, a 30-seater ran instead.

"We will be deploying the 35-seater on April 16, and this should be able to meet demand. We will continue to monitor the situation and make adjustments as needed."

SBS Transit, which currently operates 25 premium bus services, said it could not reveal how many seats each one had because of "competitive reasons".


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