To queue or not to queue? That is the question – for Bishan commuters.

A frustrated commuter took to Facebook on Tuesday (March 7) to express his gripes about residents not queueing up at Bishan Bus Interchange, a situation which many netizens have dubbed as "unique" to the area.

"[I have] been to a lot of bus interchanges. Bishan is the worst," the user, who goes by the name Kei El Douberyu, wrote in the post.

"Railings [were] installed for people to queue but nobody queues. Instead all stand around the boarding area. When [the] bus comes, all chiong (rush) ah!"

The user then said he had thought it was a one-off incident, until a return visit to the area proved that it was a daily occurrence.

The user also claimed that he was "ignored" by other commuters despite queueing in line for the bus.

"Bishan people, shame on you! So uncultured and boorish! People from Clementi, Boon Lay, Woodlands, Bedok, Pasir Ris ... are more civilised than you people living on former dead corpse land," the irate writer concludes in the post.

In the comment section, some netizens explained that this phenomenon occurs because buses that run similar routes are grouped near each other, which has led to Bishan residents adopting an "unspoken no-queue system" in a bid to catch the bus that comes earliest.

One netizen used an example of 54 and 410G, both of which goes to Bishan Street 13, as well as 52 and 410W, which travel to Street 22.

But "services like 55 and 53, people will queue", the user explained.

However, the complainant was dissatisfied with the explanations, telling another netizen not to "give excuses".

He stated that there are departure times displayed on monitors in the interchange, so commuters should queue for the bus timed to depart first.

Other users also claim that at other bus interchanges in Pasir Ris and Bedok, commuters still choose to queue and will shift accordingly when a bus arrives earlier than the other despite having a similar design.

It also seems that this situation may not be as "uniquely Bishan" as claimed. 

Other netizens also jumped in to say that the same situation occurs in other interchanges, from Choa Chu Kang to Tampines and Woodlands, among others.

AsiaOne has contacted the user for further information.

'Bird s*** is everywhere'

While Bishan Bus Interchange may now be known as the one where no one queues, at least they weren't given the honour of being the filthiest in the country.

Writing to Stomp on October last year, a commuter shared a photo and a video of Eunos Bus Interchange littered with bird droppings and stains, calling it the "dirtiest bus interchange in Singapore".

"Bird s*** is everywhere, including the railings, such that we cannot even rest our backs, buttocks and arms".

In response to a Stomp query, Grace Wu, SBS Transit's vice president (special grade) of customer experience and communications, said then: "Cleaning of Eunos Bus Interchange is carried out twice daily.

"However, it has been quite a challenge to keep it constantly clean as birds from the neighbouring field frequently fly in and out and some also perch on the overhead horizontal beams of the roof.

"Unfortunately, they sometimes leave their droppings behind."

Wu then said that they will also explore additional measures to improve the situation and apologised for the inconveniences caused.

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wongdaoen@asiaone.com

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