There are many online resources for bus and train guides from www.smrt.com.sg, www.transitlink.com.sg, and www.sbstransit.com.sg. There is a complete bus guide from TransitLink and SMRT so you will never have to wonder which bus to take to any location. In fact, SBS Transit also offers IRIS, a service that allows you to find out when the next bus will be arriving at your bus stop and also helps you plan your journey and the route to get there. IRIS is also available via WAP, GPRS and even SMS. What about the trains? The train network map is available here and their timings are also available.

Of course, it will be great if you can have all these information at your fingertips. For that, you can get a handy pocket-sized TransitLink Guide. You can purchase it from any of the ticket offices or call the hotline at 1800-CALL ONE (1800-2255 663) for more information.

The system of paying bus or train fares in Singapore is designed to be very efficient for the masses, but it does make it slightly awkward for the visitor who makes only a very limited number of rides on our transportation system. For buses, the system should be familiar to most people – you can pay your bus fare by cash when boarding the bus, but you need to prepare the exact amount since no change is given. However, things are slightly different for trains, because all fare gates at train systems are operated using contactless cards. To travel by train paying in cash, first go to a ticketing machine and pay the train fare plus a S$1 deposit, and you will be issued a contactless card. Then you tap your card at the fare gates to go to the platforms. A common mistake is to tap at the screen itself, when you are supposed to tap your card on the sensor below the screen. Upon reaching your destination station, tap your way out of the fare gates. The final step is to go to one of the ticketing machines, insert the contactless card and you will be refunded your S$1 deposit. The whole process is a bit cumbersome, but the good thing about Singapore’s train system is that when transferring from one line to another, there is no need to pass through fare gates at all even if the two lines belongs to different companies.

All the above explanation is made for the visitor who is expected to make only a very limited number of trips on our buss or trains. For us Singaporeans, what we do is that we simply buy a stored-value contactless card, more commonly known as the EZ-Link card, and then we simply tap in and tap out on buses and trains. We only need to top-up our card when its stored value runs low, which is very convenient and efficient. An interesting side-effect of the convenience is that most of us are unable to recall the exact fare even our most routine commutes, since the fares are automatically deducted from the stored-value card. To encourage the use of the EZ-Link card, it is cheaper to pay bus or train fares by EZ-Link card instead of paying by cash, and EZ-Link card holders get a rebate of 25 cents each time when making a bus or train transfer. However, purchasing an adult EZ-Link card comes with a non-refundable card cost of S$5. Therefore, I do not advise visitors who intend to use the Singapore public transport for only a few times to buy the EZ-Link card, because the savings is not worth the card cost.

You may notice taxi drivers in Singapore don’t really stay in their lanes much. My friends who came to Singapore were quite shocked that their taxi driver swerved around other cars seemingly without thought, especially with the reputation of S’poreans being very law abiding. Strangely, I was also puzzled for quite a while about this. Now, after several years, I think I’ve figured it out. SG, being a very densely populated city, has numerous intersections, traffic road repair diversions, flagging taxi passengers, itinerant garbage recyclers (”karang guni”), trishaw ice cream sellers, not to mention jaywalkers — all to keep drivers fluid, changing in and out of lanes and anticipating which lane to be in to make the turns three intersections ahead.

You might also notice that traffic congestion is pretty minimal in SG. The most famous part of the reason for this is called ‘ERP’, or for the uninitiated, “congestion road pricing”. RFID gates across the city register passing cars’ presence and charge tolls accordingly, hopefully keeping your trip relatively jam free. Another part of the equation is ‘COE’, or new vehicle entitlements. Such a Certificate Of Entitlement lets you own and drive a vehicle. SG regulates how many vehicles may ply the roads in proportion to the amount of capacity available. As more new roads are built, more old cars exported and more passengers choose to use public transport, the more entitlements there are to be auctioned off to future-vehicle owners. This keeps traffic in check and puts market demand and supply to work to regulate traffic.

But mass transit certainly has its role in keeping order in SG. The subway rail lines are modern and originated as a single project, unlike other older cities which merged several competitors. As recent as
2003 there were only two lines, but as SG targets to attract more immigrants to stay and contribute, the rail system is growing, currently building and planning and additional two lines to add to the three main trunks and light rail exchanges.

While the MRT system is growing and efficient, clean and hi-tech, for many S’poreans, the bus is the way to go. Early on, transport planners envisioned the MRT as the backbone for bus feeders to take passengers the “final mile” from MRT stations, and planned to shut down long, cross-island routes — especially those that partially mirrored rail stations. However, buses require less walking and often have seats (ok, ok, maybe not during rush hour and seldom in the city center), and so such long haul buses were retained and are still used by many commuters.

Bus stops in SG are often very close by, within 2-3 minutes walking distance, sometimes clearly visible just down the street. Coming from less congested cities, you may wonder why S’poreans will opt to wait 20 minutes for a bus that takes them 100 m closer to their destination or will huddle at bus stops, deathly afraid of the radiant sunlight. Once you’ve tried that extra two-three minute walk, you might guess why — it’s simply too hot to walk around and not get sweaty and stinky. So be patient and wait for the extra couple of minutes — your friends, colleagues and family will thank you.

A favorite activity I think is fun for visitors to try is what I call the “random bus game”. You take any form of mass transit and randomly get off at any place that seems interesting. Switch, transfer in any direction you might like and it can take you someplace off the beaten track (well as far as visitors go, anyways . Remember, Singapore is safe, and next to impossible to get lost in. A taxi ride of 20 SGD will get almost anywhere (perhaps just not at rush hour).

One last thing: coming from the US and other large places, I have gotten used to using compass directions to navigate places. In SG, it may not help much. Locals remember directions by left and rights and by place names. Highway signs are thus marked for “Changi” or “Tuas” and not “East” and “West”. I have yet to devise yet-another theory for this; so if you figure it out, please do tell me