SMRT bendy bus stuck overnight in field at Kim Keat Avenue

SINGAPORE — An SMRT bendy bus was stuck an open field near Blk 256 Kim Keat Avenue for more than 10 hours, following a bus captain’s misplaced attempts to return it to the bus depot in the wee hours of Thursday (Sept 29).

At 10am on Thursday, SMRT said recovery efforts were still underway to retrieve its stuck bus. 10 minutes later, the bus was observed by a TODAY's photographer to be removed with the aid of a tow truck on scene.

“The bus captain was returning the vehicle to the bus depot early this morning when he took a wrong turn and attempted to make a U-turn on the field.

“We apologise to residents who may have been affected by the noise during the recovery effort. We are investigating the matter,” said Mr Patrick Nathan, vice president for SMRT’s corporate information and communications.

When asked if the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will investigate the incident or take any action against SMRT, an LTA spokesman said it will not be commenting on the incident as this is "an operational matter" for SMRT to deal with.

Facebook user Terence Low, who lives near the area, posted a photo of the off-service vehicle at around 12.24am.

“Driver is trying ever so hard to move it with engine going on overdrive! Possibly creating more air and noise pollution than going anywhere fast. There’re no bus depots in this area. LTA trying out a new transport route or SMRT lost a bus taken by a driver gone rogue?” he wrote.

At 7.05am, he responded to his own post, noting that two tow trucks arrived at the field but could not get the bus out of the ground.