Commuters struggle to find ways to get to their destinations

SINGAPORE — Mrs Dorothy Chew was on her way home from Raffles Place when the lights on the MRT train she was travelling on began flickering — the first sign that things were about to go awry for her commute.

“It was quite scary. I’ve never experienced a breakdown and this had to happen on my son’s birthday,” said the housewife, 47.

Another passenger, Mr Leow, 35, who had boarded a train at City Hall at 6.50pm to make his way home, noticed the same thing happening. “(The train) stopped once, and the initial announcement was that the train in front was at the station.

Then, when it began moving again the lights began flickering on and off, before it stopped altogether,” said the engineer, who did not want to give his full name.

As train services ground to a halt at all stations of the North-South and East-West lines during the evening peak hour yesterday, commuters found themselves scrambling to find ways to get to their destinations.

Ground staff at stations made announcements and gave out flyers informing commuters about the alternative transport services available, but many people were dismayed by the large crowds that gathered at bus stops outside train stations.

In Eunos, crowded buses lined the stop outside the station as about 200 to 300 commuters clamoured to get on. At Bishan Station, commuters emerged from the Circle Line only to find that the North-South Line was down. Crowds quickly poured into bus stops near the station, and officers had to use ropes to regulate the boarding of buses.

Undergraduate Melody Gibson was at Ang Mo Kio Station when the trains stopped running. Hoping to grab a cab, she headed to the nearby taxi stand, but was greeted by the sight of about 50 people waiting in line, with just three to four taxis picking up passengers.

“The bus interchanges are crowded too. This has happened a number of times already. SMRT should make better plans to prepare for this,” said Ms Gibson, who also asked why there appeared to be no free shuttle buses, only the regular bus services that were picking up passengers for free.

Student Phyllis Loh, 22, has disembarked from bus Service No 7 at Dhoby Ghaut so as to catch a train on the North-East Line. She said the bus was packed “worse than (during the)rush hour”.

“Some people refused to move in. A lot of people could not get on, while others couldn’t get off,” said Ms Loh.

“My friend had to shout at people to move away from the bus doors so that they could close. The bus couldn’t move off because the doors couldn’t close.”

Another student, Tan Li Ting, 18, waited for an hour at Dhoby Ghaut to catch a bus to her home in Admiralty. She said that while the breakdown was troublesome, she found the station staff “helpful” and “patient”.

But commuters at bus stops near Buona Vista Station were less impressed with the service. There were no station staff seen helping to direct the crowds that continued to come from the Circle Line exits, even as the bus stops were already packed with commuters.

Many said they had been waiting for more than an hour.

Mr Taufik Ahmad, 28, who works in logistics, was unable to board any of the five buses that would have taken him to his Jurong West home. He said he was hoping to get home as soon as possible so as to break his fast.

He added: “Everyone was dashing for the bus and the situation was quite messy ... I also tried calling a cab, but couldn’t get one.”

Ms Janelle Tang, 27, waited for a bus outside Buona Vista Station for more than an hour before giving up and calling her brother to give her a lift. It was almost impossible to get on the buses, with everyone scrambling to board whenever a bus pulled in, she said, adding: “There could be clearer directions for commuters, as well as someone to manage the crowd.”

Jurong East Station was still filled with commuters at around 10.30pm, with many asking the staff for directions. Madam Fafa Aris, 50, was dismayed by the lack of staff helping to show affected commuters the way. She said she had been waiting there for two hours and that the taxi queues were also very long.

“I hope to take the bus, but I’m not sure which one to take. Everything is so messy,” she said. LOUISA TANG, REGINA MARIE LEE, ALFRED CHUA, NG JING YNG