Family faces ‘ridiculous’ 35-minute wait for bus in Tengah, son ‘cried and begged’ to cab home
A mother of an 11-year-old boy called out a “ridiculous” 35-minute wait for a Service 97 bus, even though arrival timings indicated a much shorter time.
In a 13-second video posted on April 26, Seri Romzi, who goes by @serishomel on TikTok, showed her son, Matin, appearing visibly distressed at a bus stop.
According to the caption, Matin had “cried and begged” for her to book a private-hire vehicle home instead, as he could not tolerate waiting that long in the sweltering heat.
Speaking to Stomp, Ms Seri clarified that the incident took place at around 4pm on April 25. She said that when the family arrived at the bus stop at Block 307B Tengah Drive, they scanned a QR code displayed there to check the timings for bus Service 97, operated by Tower Transit Singapore.
“Bus timing… kept on repeating five minutes, three minutes, one minute and arriving – and yet, still no sight of bus 97,” said the housewife. She added that the only buses that the family saw were off-service buses, and they soon grew frustrated.
While Matin was initially “okay” with the shorter wait times displayed on the app, the continuous absence of the bus led him to become “more furious and fuming mad”. He repeatedly asked if the family could take a Grab ride home, but Ms Seri declined as they lived only four bus stops away.
According to Ms Seri, two other families at the bus stop grew frustrated as well. One of them, which included a baby, chose to head home rather than continue waiting for the bus.
“Another family of four waited for five minutes. (The father) saw in his bus app (that the) timing kept changing. He couldn’t take it (so) he flagged a cab and ‘ciao’,” recalled Ms Seri.
She said that the bus only arrived about 35 minutes later, and Matin was noticeably relieved when they reached home.
In response to Stomp’s queries, a Tower Transit Singapore spokesperson apologised for the inconvenience that Ms Seri’s family faced.
The representative said that Service 97 was affected by traffic congestion caused by multiple road and lane closures due to an event on April 25, resulting in long delays for buses returning from the city.
‘I’ll react the same too’
The video has garnered over 62,100 views, 1,755 likes, and 110 comments, including some that were critical of Matin.
One user questioned how the boy would survive NS, although the user was slammed by others for mocking a child.
There were also many netizens who felt that Matin’s distress was valid, as a 35-minute wait time is “crazy”.
Some users provided helpful suggestions to combat the heat, such as bringing a portable fan, water bottle, and umbrella whenever possible.
Commenters who appear to be Tengah residents or Service 97 commuters also commiserated with Ms Seri by sharing similar experiences.
One user wrote: “Omg I faced the same thing. We waited for 40 mins for bus 97 on a weekday. (In the end) we took Grab taxi (and) I reached my destination in less than 30 mins. The bus timing also showed 5mins>2mins>1min>Arr. but the bus never arrived.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with a statement from Tower Transit Singapore.
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