Central Express - 806, 857
Kicking off the first trip in a while, I first took Trunk Service 857 from Prinsep Street up to Yishun. This route is particularly useful as it uses the Central Expressway for a quicker connection from the City and Little India.
Approaching Yishun Estate.
Anyway, I had lunch and followed up with a ride on Feeder Service 806, which loops around the new flats in Yishun Ave 6, passing the new hawker centre at Yishun Park.
MAN A95 double-decker buses are deployed on these feeders, replacing old bendies.
Service Enhancements - 71, 860
Recently, there have been a series of route amendments to services in the Yishun and Yio Chu Kang area. One of which is an extension of Trunk Service 860 from Khatib MRT Station to Yio Chu Kang via Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5.
SBS Transit-spec Mercedes Citaro operating for SMRT.
The extended section of the route, entering Ang Mo Kio North via Upper Thomson Road.
Arriving at Yio Chu Kang Bus Interchange, the intention was to take an entire loop of the newly introduced Trunk Service 71, which I did, passing through Mayflower Estate in the west of Ang Mo Kio and turning around at Bishan.
As it turns out, Singapore's first Euro VI emissions standard bus (the one pictured above) was deployed for the first time that day on Service 71, unfortunately for me, I wasn't aware.
Construction works on Mayflower MRT Station along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4.
The route loops around Bishan Street 11, returning to Yio Chu Kang.
Up Northeast Again - 3, 136
After the trip on Service 71, I took the MRT one stop down to Ang Mo Kio. I had a short break and continued on Trunk Service 136 to Punggol.
The route traverses the roads around Serangoon Gardens and turns out onto Upper Serangoon Road via Yio Chu Kang Road.
Service 136 then travels straight up to Hougang and Sengkang.
Block of flats at 25 Hougang Avenue 3.
From Punggol, I then took the entire length of Trunk Service 3, the only bus service in Singapore to stop at 3 bus interchanges (Punggol, Pasir Ris and Tampines) The bus I took was a double-decker, which is not as common as the usual single-deck buses that are normally deployed.
Service 3 out of Punggol.
Volvo B10TL on Service 81 in Pasir Ris.
The newly built Our Tampines Hub near Tampines Central.
The New Standard - 47
The stunningly designed Expo MRT Station (Downtown Line)
The odd blank information boards at the bus stop outside the Station.
I took the Downtown Line to Expo Station and arrived at the somewhat desolate Changi Business Park Terminal after a short bus ride, which is the terminating stop for two routes, 47 and 118.
For the last trip of the day, I took Trunk Service 47 which is a loop service which passes Bedok South and turns around at Marine Parade. The bus was a new MAN A95 double-decker (in fact the exact one that is pictured in the above article on Trunk Service 47), transferred to SBS Transit with SMRT-specifications.
The first point of comparison, owing to the size of the cities, of course, is that bus trips in Hong Kong are much longer and scenic than in Singapore, owing to its additional 2035 square kilometres of area and more interesting geography.
For the last trip of the day, I took Trunk Service 47 which is a loop service which passes Bedok South and turns around at Marine Parade. The bus was a new MAN A95 double-decker (in fact the exact one that is pictured in the above article on Trunk Service 47), transferred to SBS Transit with SMRT-specifications.
The bus, like most of the new ones, has USB chargers next to the seats. (I used them to charge my phone.)
Passing through Marine Parade, including the Thomson-East Coast Line works.
Recap of trip:
Routes done - 3, 47 (half), 71, 136, 806, 857 (half), 860
Progress - 63/363 (17.36 %)
Hong Kong Trip
As you may know, this is the first trip since I've gotten back from Hong Kong, there are some points of comparison that can be made between the two public transport systems, which I think are so similar, but yet so different.The first point of comparison, owing to the size of the cities, of course, is that bus trips in Hong Kong are much longer and scenic than in Singapore, owing to its additional 2035 square kilometres of area and more interesting geography.
Tai Tam Reservoir Dam, NWFB Route 14 towards Stanley
Bus trips in Hong Kong are arguably more enjoyable than in Singapore, as one knows exactly when to alight from a bus from the in-built announcement system and information displays.
Drivers also just follow timetables without having to maintain headway like the buses do in Singapore.
The regulation in Singapore is meant to keep a regular distance between buses, preventing bunching and irregular frequency, but this does mean that bus drivers drive frustrating slow to keep to the practice, else risking a lower pay bonus from their Public Transport Operator. These measures are not implemented in Hong Kong.
The 4 pictures above all have one thing in common; the Alexander Dennis Enviro500. There are just so many of them in Hong Kong. Sure, there are many in Singapore, but there feels like a million times more of them in Hong Kong. 8 out of 10 buses I took in Hong Kong seemed to be an Enviro500.
Since most buses are this type and a vast majority are double-deckers, Singapore wins in terms of variety of bus models.
That being said, there are also fleets of other bus models such as Volvo B9TLs and Dennis Tridents.
However, Hong Kong still wins in terms of capacity (most buses are double-deckers) and variety of bus routes in addition to its fast and reliable MTR system.
The new South Island Line.
In my opinion, both cities' public transport systems have their ups and downs, but on paper, I would say that overall, Hong Kong's vast network of bus services and overall reliability (while I was there) gives it the edge over Singapore's public transport system.
In conclusion, Singapore's buses are cleaner and simpler in terms of its network but Hong Kong's are more comfortable and rides are more scenic, owing probably to Hong Kong's different climate, culture and overall area size and population. However, I would prefer Hong Kong's comfortable headrests over the normal seats in Singapore.
Note - I actually came back on the 14th, and took this trip on the 17th. This post is this late because - procrastination.
