74 or 52? ( A Matter Choice)

Long long time ago, there was only 1 single direct bus to SIM. That was the long established bus no. 74. All the way from hougang interchange via amk, marymount, bukit timah road and clementi road.. to its depot at bouna vista.

During the peak hour, the frequency for 74 was quite high..but as it passes through amk, it's always crowded.. and due to the route taken, the number of bus stops and the frequency of bus stopping to pick up passangers, number of traffic lights are uncountable. On the brighter side, the route taken is not always congested.

But sadly, 74 is always so packed with students.. and the number of getting on and off the bus took the journey to SIM a full hour* or so. The worst part is, not being able to get onto the bus. Sometimes, it's just too packed to get on.. and due to the amount of time spent to allow people to squeeze onto the bus, the schedule is delayed. As such, 74s behind soon caught up, and the whole lot of them just got stuck together. On the whole, the journey is quite a bad experience during the peak hour.

Just about a year ago, number 52 was introduced. It followed the loop service of 410 around bishan before reaching thomson road. 52 comes by once every 15 minutes. From its Bishan interchange to Jurong East, the bulk of the route lies on PIE. Regardless peak or non-peak, there is always some seats left. The whole journey is just a mere 20-30 minutes* on average depending on the traffic and weather condition of PIE.

On really bad days, an accident on the PIE can cause the duration of the journey to balloon to a whooping 1 hour*.. that is, an increment by 100%! And as all drivers know.. Expressways are prone to jams.. especially during the morning peak.

A choice between 52 or 74 meant one important thing - time. On the one hand, 74 has a more predicitable outcome, that is, the solution to reaching school in the fastest possible time is: 1)Be early.. very early 2)Be late. As such.. being ON time is just wasting time and making people pek chek.. coz the bus is packed like sardines. Slow but steady.. (provided that you can get onto the bus in the 1st place...)

On the other hand, 52 makes things seems so peaceful that there's no buffer zones for errors. When the bus is "late", the whole journey is delayed. It's even worse to be caught in a jam on the PIE. It's fast, but unreliable.

Setting off early is out of the question.. coz the whole point is to maximise nuaing time and minimise travelling time. Going to school early is just "wasting" time, staring blankly at the tv screen show CNA.

That is, one of the many choices to be made.

When it comes to going home, both buses stopped at the same busstop. As usual, 74 is crowded, but with high frequency. 52 is less crowded, but comes only once in a while.

The return trip is slightly different. Since it's out of the peak period, a usual ride on 74 return trip takes 35 mins* on average. 52 still clocked at 20 mins* Which makes both services comparable after considering the waiting time of 15 mins for 52.

So now.. the question is.. whether do i board the 1st bus that came? Or should i wait for the prefered bus? (note: this is not similiar to 184 v 154 (clementi) - journey are too short to really make an impact)

And now.. i realised that even if 74 comes along, i'll just hesitate to get on. I wanted to wait for 52. But if another 74 comes along.. i'll just board it. (when 52 doesn't come.. i assumed that there'll be a lot of people waiting to board it.. making the bus pack.) Which makes me wonder.. what the hell am i doing? I'm just wasting more time! True.. i can act on a 1st come 1st serve basis.. but given a "better" choice, who wouldn't want? But come to think of it.. before 52, there isn't such problem at all.

More choices are better? I don't think so!

*time are based on travel times only

Based on the above entry, answer the following question in your own words as far as possible:
(mark(s) awarded are shown in blackets)

Paragraphs 2-3
Q1. List the advantages and disadvantages of bus service number 74. (1)

Paragraph 4
Q2. What is the route taken by bus service number 52? (1)

Paragraph 5
Q3. What are the drawbacks of bus 52? (1)

Paragraphs 6 & 7
Q4. Compare between the 2 bus services. (1)

Paragraph 8
Q5. What is the objective of the author? (1)

Q6. Give meanings for the words as they are used in the above entry:-
i) pek chek (1)
ii) PIE (1)
iii) nuaing (1)

Q.7 Summarize the process of the return trip for both services in not more than 1 word. (1)

Q.8 So.. should i take 74 or 52? (16)


Answer below.. (note: the following contains spoilers..)

Hahahaa... a bo liao entry that i wanted to post long long time ago. Just didn't find the time to be bo liao. Anyway, taking 74 or 52 is a trival matter, but the underlying basic principle is the same. Not about whether choices means more alternative.. but rather, when choices are presented, which will you choose?

It's only clear when one knows which alternative are available.. and also, the arrival of these alternatives.. Are they there when you needed one?

It also reflects the way how some opportunities work. Some came knocking twice.. and when it came by the 2nd time, will you grab it? or will you stand by your choice?

LOL.. and i'm not even thinking a lot. Don't say i think bloody too much.. this entry is meant to de-stress de.. haha.. anyway, 3am now.. and still going for FI tomorrow morning.. LOL... and i'll still take bus 52~ lol.. maybe just set off earlier lor.