Despite being able to drive from one end of Singapore to the other in about 2 hours, I quickly found taking the bus required at least an hour to get anywhere worth going.  Usually, buses come every 10 to 15 minutes and need to be flagged down, much like a taxi cab in America.  Our apartment is about a 5 minute walk from several bus stops.  Each bus stop near where we live has at least 5 to 10 different buses stopping at it.

However, the bus system took me quite a while to get used to.  Unlike the bus stops in San Francisco, the bus stops here do not provide a map of the bus routes.  I tried looking for one online and the one available on Google Earth showed that there are so many bus lines crisscrossing Singapore that it forms too dense a network to be of any practical use.  The Singapore Transit Authority publishes a booklet every year showing all the bus stops and is available for purchase.  Alas, even with the booklet in my possession, I still managed to spend half a day getting on buses which took me the wrong way three consecutive times.  iPhone applications with Singapore bus routes have been invaluable in helping me get around.

Here is a clip of the sounds as I rode the bus.  The intermittent beep sounds are people placing their EZ-Link electronic cards against the card readers which are located at the front and side doors of the bus.  The card readers will display the amount of the fare and your remaining balance on your card.  It works on all buses and subway lines in Singapore.  Typically, a bus fare ranges from less than SGD $1 to no more than $3.

-Amy Hwan, Singapore ‘09