DON'T take away our buses. That's what many people said in their e-mail responses to a recent Sunday Times story on long-distance bus routes.
Talk is that the Government is looking into the feasibility of such services.
In their e-mails, readers expressed their hope that their ride of choice will not be taken off the road. They cite reasons like convenience (the bus stops right outside their office) and the ability to watch the world go by (you don’t get that in a train whizzing by in a dark tunnel).
Expect the debate about what to do with these routes to continue.
Personally, I enjoy taking buses — now that they are mostly air-conditioned, come with plush seats and have huge windows that bring the world into the bus. I occasionally take the bus when my car is at the workshop.
Most times, I can get a window seat and, if you ask me, the view is such, that I don’t mind if the bus is caught in slow traffic. Really, there's a lot to do on a bus, even if you are not plugged into your Walkman or reading a magazine or book.
People-watching is tops on my list.
Who takes the bus? I spot students (loud and full of banter), the older folks (mmm, are they going to Chinatown for shopping since service 33, which I take, goes by People’s Park Complex?) and new immigrants (why do women from China wear boots, despite our tropical weather?)
In my younger days, when I took buses all the time, I always hoped that a pretty girl would sit next to me.
I am sure today’s passengers harbour the same dream too. Surely, some folks must have struck up friendships, if not romance, on a bus?
Next up in terms of rolling good times, is the chance to see your neighbourhood from a different perspective, especially if you are on a double-decker. But even sitting high up in a single-decker gives you views that no fence or wall can censor.
You see people exercising in their backyard or garden.
You see the top-end cars that crowd the driveway in some bungalow.
You see people at work and at play as the bus navigates its way through the arteries of Singapore.
The world could be boiling-hot outside but, inside the cool bus, the world seems perfect in all its activities, colours and sounds.
When I get down, there's an extra spring in my step. I feel refreshed and am all ready to plug into the busy world again.