‘AC on buses trying to save money?’ Tower Transit commuter blasts bus’ air-conditioning amid sizzling weather
A commuter has raised concerns about the temperature on board a Tower Transit bus, saying the air-conditioning was not sufficient to cool down amid the hot weather.
In a Facebook post shared on the Complaint Singapore group on April 8, user TomJack Ang questioned the temperature on a Tower Transit bus during the evening rush hour. A photo attached shows a thermometer displaying a reading of 26.8 deg C inside the bus.
“The AC gets so hot during rush hour,” he wrote, adding he was on Service 856 bus heading from Woodlands to Yishun.
In the comments, he also included a picture showing a 20.8 deg C reading, apparently taken on an SBS Transit bus.
Stuffiness amplified by hot weather
Speaking to Stomp, the user, who goes by Jack, said he took the reading at around 6.20pm on April 8. Earlier in the day, he recorded an outdoor temperature of 39.8 deg C, fueling his desire to cool down.
Jack described the strength of the bus’s air-conditioning as the equivalent of the weakest setting in a car, with the evening crowd compounding the stuffiness he felt.
The feeling eased after some passengers disembarked at Sembawang MRT station, he recalled.
Jack, a construction site supervisor, said the temperature measurements were taken using equipment that he owned.
As for the measurement taken on the SBS bus, Jack said it was taken about 30 minutes later on a Service 811 bus.
As a daily commuter on Service 856, the 35-year-old clarified that not every journey is as warm as the one he highlighted in his post.
However, he noted multiple occasions where his rides felt uncomfortably hot, including one instance in which he recorded an onboard temperature of 29.4 deg C.
Handheld fans ineffective
Jack’s post received 94 comments, with some users sharing their experiences dealing with humid conditions on public transport.
In response to other Facebook users suggesting he use a portable fan to quell the heat, Jack said he had tried it but found it ineffective. “My own portable fan was blowing hot wind, how can I cool down?” he said.
Temperatures in some parts of the country are expected to hit 35 deg C over the next two weeks, though the risk of a heatwave — defined as three consecutive days when the highest daily temperature is at least 35 deg C — is low.
Stomp has reached out to Tower Transit for comment.
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