A Singaporean man was left fuming over not only the length of a bus trip he took from Singapore to KL, but also the misleading information concerning said trip.
He recently took to social media to vent his frustration over the trip which was fraught with miscommunication and delays.
Bus came late
In a Facebook post shared to the group Complaint Singapore, the man, Tony Tan, wrote that he booked an 11am bus trip from Singapore to KL, which was operated by the company Billion Stars Express.
After making the booking, Tan received a WhatsApp message informing him that the bus will pick him up at 18 Tai Seng at 11am.
To avoid running late, Tan and his friends booked a taxi from Tan Tock Seng Hospital, which cost him $14.77 (approx. RM46) and arrived at the pickup point at 10.35am.
When the clock ticked until 11.30am, there was still no sight of the bus, prompting Tan to contact Billion Stars Express.
“They apologised and said the actual pickup time should be 12pm instead of 11am. This is unacceptable because I booked an 11am coach and your WhatsApp confirmation also clearly stated 11am.
“Due to your mistake, we incurred unnecessary taxi expenses and wasted an hour waiting,” he wrote.
Delays and more delays
According to Tan, things only took a turn for the worse when the journey began.
Although the ticket stated that it was a “direct” five hours and 37 minutes trip with no “transfers”, Tan quickly found out that it was anything but that.
In the post, he alleged the bus had a 45-minute lunch stop after clearing Malaysia immigration at the Second Link, before taking another 20-minute stop near Senai Toll Plaza at around 2.15pm.
A 25-minute toilet break at Pagoh, Johor later took place, along with a detour to Seremban to let some passengers alight at around 6.55pm.
At 8pm, Tan was told to leave the bus at Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) in KL. He was also informed that he needed to wait for a transfer bus to his original destination at Berjaya Times Square.
‘Not happy, complain to company’
To top things off, Tan said the bus driver wasn’t sure when the next bus would arrive.
He also told us, ‘If not happy, complain to company’. I repeatedly called the company but nobody answered.
“As a result, I had no choice but to take a taxi from TBS to Berjaya Times Square, costing another RM50.”
Needless to say, Tan vowed it would be his last time boarding another Billion Stars Express bus.
Bus company clarifies
When contacted by AsiaOne, a Billion Stars Express operations manager named Ooi acknowledged that staff should have informed Tan about the change in pick-up time much earlier.
He also addressed Tan’s claim that the company had misled him into thinking that the trip was a direct journey.
“The phrase “direct no transfer” refers to direct cross-border operation without requiring passengers to change buses during immigration clearance,” he explained.
Ooi also rubbished Tan’s claims of the driver taking several stops for long periods of time, saying that it was “exaggerated”.
“Based on Road Transport Department (JPJ) requirements, these stops are necessary to rotate drivers on the long journey.
“However, GPS records did show that the driver had exceeded the 30-minute allocation, and we will conduct an internal review of the driver.
“It’s wrong when you take a break, but also wrong when you don’t stop…we try to avoid taking breaks that are too long.”
As for Tan being told to board another bus to Berjaya Times Square from TBS, Ooi said there was no need for him to do so, citing a possible miscommunication between Tan and the bus driver.
“The bus had stopped to coordinate the movement of a separate group of travellers heading towards Penang.
“I spoke to the bus driver and I think he might have felt some pressure as he also had to manage other passengers on board,” he added.
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