Morning bus jam in Jurong West forces commuters to walk: 'I was unable to have breakfast'
A major bus jam in Jurong West left many commuters stranded during peak hour on March 7, forcing some to walk long distances to reach their destinations.
Stompers Subash and Lim, who were caught in the chaos, shared videos of the congestion involving multiple buses and large crowds of commuters walking.
"Starting from 6.30am this morning, there was an unusually large crowd at the usual 243W bus stop I use," he said.
"There was no vehicular traffic at all, which made me suspicious.
"After waiting for a long time without any buses arriving, everyone decided to move to the next bus stop. Upon arriving there, we still didn't see any buses.
"Subsequently, we came to Jurong West Avenue 4. There, we saw a large number of buses closely packed together.
"Critically, these buses were not moving.
"All passengers were struggling inside, suggesting they had also been waiting for a long time.
"Due to this congestion and lack of movement, we walked all the way to Jurong Point. It was then that we realised the entire area had no bus services."
He eventually managed to get to work on bus service 246.
"I arrived at the office at 8am but I was unable to have breakfast due to this unusual situation," he added.
Lim expressed his frustration, saying: "Alamak, alamak. Why why why, Jurong Point bus break down like that, why why why."
Another Stomper shared a video of the situation taken from above at 8.16am.
"Many are definitely late for their morning schedule, but not by choice," the Stomper said.
"Hopefully, the schools and organisations will understand."
The disruption affected enough commuters for online discussions to emerge on Reddit and HardwareZone about the unusual delay.
In response to a Stomp query, SMRT Buses deputy managing director Vincent Gay confirmed that the jam was caused by a bus that had broken down.
"At around 6.15am this morning, Bus Service 187 broke down along the slip road from Jurong Central 3 to Jurong West Street 64, impacting traffic flow near Boon Lay Bus Interchange," Mr Gay said.
"In response, temporary bus diversion plans were swiftly implemented for Services 172, 178, 179, 180, 187, 240, 241, 251, and 252.
"Additional staff were also deployed on-site to manage bus movements and assist affected passengers at the interchange.
"The stalled bus was successfully towed, and normal traffic flow resumed by approximately 8.50 am.
"We sincerely appreciate the patience and understanding of all affected passengers."
