felix ker's blog » Daily rants

Travelling from Singapore to Johor Bahru by Bus?

Felix Ker — Mon, 24 May 2010 02:34:24 +0000

Just a brief introduction of myself, I’m a frequent traveller to and fro the two cities. I’ve been doing this for the past 15 years, not one or two. Doing this for such a long time, I realised that there’s a pattern to the buses.

Travel fares (As at publishing date)

Note that if you travel from JB, you pay fares in Ringgit Malaysia. If you board the bus at Singapore Customs or in Singapore, you’d have to pay in Singapore Dollars.

Want to be time and cost efficient? You can be a smart traveller. Read on.

JB Customs to Kranji
Causeway Link (Bus CW1) – $0.90
SBS Transit (Bus 170) – $1.00
JB Customs to Jurong East
SBS Transit (Bus 160) – Not sure of price, but there’s no competitors.
JB Customs to Woodlands Interchange
SMRT (Bus 950)
JB to Queens Street (Bugis)
JB-SG Express (Only 1 bus) – $2.50
Causeway Link (CW2)- $2.50

If you just got off the bus/mrt with an ezlink card, it would be worth it to use the transfer rebate and get on a SBS/SMRT Bus.

Travelling Strategy

There are certain times that we consider peak hours:-

Monday Mornings (7am-9am) – Out to Singapore
Everyday (530pm-8pm) – to JB
Friday Evenings (5pm-10pm) – to JB
Saturday & Sunday (Whole morning and afternoon) – to JB
Sunday (4pm – 10pm) – to Singapore

During peak hours, the queues are usually longer than usual. I mean really a lot longer.

What bus to take?

Depending on where you are travelling to. If you’re travelling from Queens Street, you can take both buses, they’re both okay. What you’re going to read below is for boarding the bus at Kranji.

Generally, if you’re heading to Larkin Bus Terminal, do NOT take CW1/CW2. Just take 170. I realise that their buses just disappear at JB customs and they will arrange for a shuttle bus to fetch you to Larkin. My previous wait was almost an hour.

Peak hours to JB – It is actually okay to take any bus.

Non-peak hours to JB – Do NOT take Causeway Link’s CW1. You won’t want to be stuck at Singapore Customs with no bus and having to switch to 170/160/950 – you’ll end up wasting your fare.

Non/Peak hours to SG – From JB Customs, all buses are okay, but note that 950 has less buses. If you’re heading to Kranji, do NOT take CW1 if you’re in a rush. CW1 buses disappear at Singapore Customs, I notice. So, take 170.

I have no intention to flame Causeway Link, but I’m hate the way CW1 and CW2 buses make us wait. I’m not the only one complaining. Their buses take damn long to arrive if you’re not travelling during the peak hours. Refer to the above peak times. So I’d recommend that you take SBS/SMRT buses.

If you’re representing Causeway Link/Handal Indah and you have comments, feel free to contact me.

So do you have any travelling tips you’d like to share with us?

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Happy 40th Earth Day!

Felix Ker — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:20:47 +0000

Its the 40th year we’re celebrating Earth Day!

The climate is changing, day by day! Can you feel how hot it is right now? Readers from overseas, such as the states might not understand how we, in Singapore feel. The temperature here is constantly changing. It doesn’t rain as much in December anymore! Sea levels are rising with most of us not knowing.

Did you participate in last month’s Earth Hour (26 March 8.30-9.30pm)? You were supposed to off your lights and any unused electronic appliances. Honestly, I didn’t.

I thought that turning off lights on a daily basis, when not needing them, was part of my effort. I felt that we should be educated and practice this in daily life. This way, it doesn’t only save our electricity bills, its a good practice to save the Earth.

Don’t feel bad. Start by turning off your computers at night when you do not require them. There are many other ways you can contribute to saving Gaia.

You are responsible for Earth too.

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How does your school ‘brand’ you?

Felix Ker — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 09:20:26 +0000

I happened to come by an article on The Straits Times today (27 April 2009, Monday) and I felt that I should write something too.

How much does the brand name of a school factor into youth identity? YouthInkers respond.

Let’s go.

I see myself no different from any student graduated from St. Joseph’s Instutution. Neither am I different from someone who studied at Raffles Instutution. Marsiling Secondary School, at the time I entered, was only a year old. (I’m proud to be the second batch!)

We’ll discuss the teachers first. I must agree that teachers are really important when it comes to developing a child, but again, it’s how the child process what’s taught. Anyway, I didn’t really agree that many things I was taught until now. I admit I’m slow in processing, that took me a few years. I’m glad I got it, eventually.

But I must mention that we’ve got a fantastic headmaster (aka Principal). Mrs Choy had totally no airs and was easy to get close with and to talk to. It’s sad that her career had to come to an end just when I graduated. If not, it would be awesome if she could spread the motherly love to more batches. All good things come to an end, don’t they?

I was given a chance to develop myself in the world of technology. School got me started in programming (Pascal was the in-thing, hurhur.) and that was when I found my hobby and love for technology. They developed me and sent me for competitions and through that, I learnt that I’m not the best. (Indirectly, I benefitted lots.)

Cherish the chances given to you. I was given many for my evil-doing. I’m not going to talk about them.

I’m not successful at all, now. But someday, I will make my mark.

Felix Ker (class of 2004), 20 going 21, is a first-year Business student at SIM Global Education (University of London & London School of Economics).

So, how did your school ‘brand’ you?

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Facebook should allow filters using Regular Expressions!

Felix Ker — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 23:43:21 +0000

With all the stupid quizes around, everyone’s doing them. Really too many people doing it everyday and it floods my feeds.

Can facebook allow us to use regular expressions to block what we do not want to see?

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I know my friend is a Shopaholic because…

Felix Ker — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 02:44:03 +0000

I know my friend is a Shopaholic because… (Actually, I’m a shopaholic too!)

I’d be holding many bags of goods if we’re shopping together! Whenever we go shopping it’s only sweet that a guy holds the shopping bags for ladies while they do their shopping. Then they can shop happier without having to put them on the floor then choose. Hopefully they know it’s been hard on us and offer a good backrub or massage.
I would receive SMS messages containing “I just bought…” or “I just went shopping…”. These messages sounds familiar? Fine, I might be one of them that sent you the messages. So what if I’m a shopaholic?
She’ll take 30mins to choose her required item and end up taking another hour choosing something she doesn’t require from another shop. “Stop.. I think I see something I like inside this shop!” It’s never going to be that 30mins of choosing a mascara and thats it. She’s sure to be back home with something else.
The more she buys, the happier she is. Spending money makes some people feel good? Perhaps.

There are many more reasons why I discovered about a shopaholic! But.. if you wanna know why…

Catch Confessions of a Shopaholic on 26 March!

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