Land Transport Authority
Digital display of stop number
I shared my experience of missing the bus stop to my home last night. It was dark and I was not able to see the landmark. I missed my stop and alighted two stops after that.
It would be helpful if the bus had a digital display that showed the sequence of each stop, e.g. 01, 02, 03. This is a low cost solution and could be easily implemented on old buses.
Several people provided suggestions on how I could solve my problem. In some cases, they were polite and wanted to be helpful. In other cases, they wanted to appear "smart".
Here are my responses to the suggestions.
a) Take Grab
I find Grab to be expensive, often over $10 for a short trip, and also quite troublesome. I had to wait for the request to be accepted, and for the driver to appear. They often appear later than promised, with the excuse that they were "dropping off the previous passenger".
I often find it more convenient to take a bus, and pay a small fare.
b) Use Google Map
I often use Google Map when I am on an unfamiliar service or at night.
I could not use Google Map last night as I was carrying two bags and do not have an additional hand to manage the phone.
c) Ask the bus driver for help
Many bus drivers, especially the foreigners, are not familiar with the bus stops. I had tried asking for their help on other occasions, and found it to be difficult. There was usually a problem with language and communication.
If the driver was able to help last night, I had to stand next to the driver as there was no public address system in the old bus.
It would also be unfair to give this burden to the driver, who already had to pay attention to driving at night.
General observations.
Several people give impractical suggestions, on the assumption that TKL is an idiot who is not familiar with how to take the bus. In some cases, they were downright rude and arrogant.
A few other people where constructive. They understood the problem and agreed that they often faced a similar problem.
Tan Kin Lian
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Digital display requires electrical power and maintenance. Not cost saving and may break down due to wear and tear. Not a good solution to me.
Increasing the font size and placed at a location with good lighting will be a better option.
FYI: Maybe you missed/ didn't spot the bus stop display where it also indicates where is this bus stop and its location at the glass panel display. Some bus stops also have road names displayed at both sides of bus stop shelter's sides.
Ben 16 Mar 2023