In Good Morning Yesterday, blogger Lam Chun See and friend Peter Tan share their memories of public bus transport in the old days of the 1960s. A far cry from the spanking fleet of modern buses we have today.
Paya Lebar Bus at Jalan Kayu
Prior to around the mid-60’s, there were several small bus companies operating in Singapore. These were mostly family businesses and poorly managed. As such the service was terrible. For example, many of the conductors and drivers were gangsters. Some names that come to mind are: Tay Koh Yat, Easy Bus, Keppel Bus, Kampung Bahru Bus, Green Bus, Bedok-Changi Bus, Changi Bus, Hock Lee Bus, Ponggol Bus, Paya Lebar Bus and STC.
Later, presumably through pressure from the new PAP government, they were amalgamated into 4 companies; UBC, ABS, STC and ABC. Conditions improved, but were still unsatisfactory. Sometime in the early 70’s, the government sent in a Government Team of Officials to clean up these companies and formed a single bus company called SBS (Singapore Bus Services). I believe, our present minister for National Development, Mr Mah Bow Tan was a member of that GTO. I read their report when I did my university final year project at the SBS (more about that another time).
Take a ride down memory lane at Good Morning Yesterday.
Tags: Good Morning Yesterday, bus services, public transport
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