bus-ted

Something came over me that made me hop up a Metro Bus to get home today. I knew it was the worse decision i could make but i thought it was still kinda early (only 5.45pm), plus i couldn't resist it when the bus  was parked right outside my office and the conductor kept yelling 'Genting Klang, Genting Klang'.

What started out as a 'convenient' move for me turned out to be my worse nightdaytimemare as it took me an hour and a half to finally reach home. The amount of manoeuvring through the jam-packed roads of KL made it seem like the bus was just going in circles. The reckless overtaking and the blaring horn prevented me from getting any shuteye throughout the journey. For some insane reason, our driver today wasn't a very patient one as he persistently honks at every car in front of him as soon as he sees a traffic light turn green. Irritating.

 I always wonder since a bus driver frequently gets himself stuck in a jam, is it an employment prerequisite for drivers to have a big bladder?

Another thing a Metro Bus driver and a RapidKL driver (in particular) have in common is this feud between the two 'rivals'. A bitter reality that sprouted because one particular company pays their drivers and conductors by commission based on fares collected. As a result, you may see Metro making more trips but on the other hand, i can't stand it when they tend to wait for passengers at particular 'popular' spots, sometimes up to 15 minutes of waiting!

One famous spot is at this bus stop beside the Chow Kit Monorail Station where there are usually hoards of people boarding buses from here. Most of the time, you'd find at least a Metro and a Rapid (both heading the same direction) playing the waiting and yelling game. Since a Rapid doesn't have a conductor, it'll be the Metro conductor yelling and gesturing to get passengers into his bus.

A seasoned passenger (like me) clearly knows to look for a Rapid instead of a Metro because 99% of the time, the Metro will still be waiting after the Rapid continues its journey. Sometimes there's more of a drama to witness, when both buses repeatedly revs the engine (sort of like wanting to trick the people into thinking they are going to start moving first). On rare occasions when a Metro eventually starts moving before a Rapid, that's when the Metro conductor might snigger at those who just boarded the Rapid, 'Bai baiii.. kita jalan duluuu...'

Nevertheless, i gotta remind myself not to conveniently hop onto any bus right outside my office, next time.Sure it saved me 60 cents (from taking the train), but it just looks too damn deceiving from the beginning. Such a pain in the ass... ...  probably from sitting down too long. ~.~