CW3: Jurong East Int - Larkin/Kota Raya II Ter
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Agreed with you Mister,I do believe that MY Are more advance than SG in terms of other things ie:Cinemas,The latest movies are shown there before reaching SG.I do really hope that big cities in JB & KL are allowed to use articulate buses and i'm pretty sure that HI will pioneered it.Originally posted by hseochin:To me, i consider this forum as some electronic paperless newspaper forum.
Therefore in this day & age, i'll reasonably expect people to be aware of its contents without the need to trouble myself to go any further to reach them.
I notice this forum is not as 'obscure' as i initially thought it to be. Because
assuming you're someone who didn't know this forum existed, all you can do is to enter a search parameter like 'CW3 Jurong East-Kota Raya' or something similar & the search engines would lead ultimately to the posts in this forum !
I do believe that Handal Indah is somehow aware of the need for improvements which must be implemented in time to come in order to keep their customers & get new ones as well. A basic difference i'll say between operating a transport outfit in Singapore & Malaysia is the big differences in the areas to cover literally, which puts far greater strain on scare resources & also makes things more difficult to manage, compared to operating on a smaller area where everything is nearer & easier to monitor etc.
Big boss of HI known to be in the bus bodybuilding industry for some time till 1 day he was approached by someone in Malaysia who proposed to him to start a transport service to link MY & SGP. I suppose he being a Malaysian Chinese businessman, he then took it as an opportunity to serve the community this way & raising their material well-being same time by providing vehicles of a grade never before existed in MY & even SGP.
Somehow i see some parallel between TIBS & HI not only in the brand of vehicles & seats used & colour of vehicles but also in the broader corporate vision towards striving towards new levels of standards in omnibus transport here. Among the various operators in JB now, i'll consider HI as the premier operator there, in terms of both the hardware & service !
I even consider Handal Indah as the Lavender (confectionary business) in the transport services sector in MY. Notice how outstanding the quality of their concept & service is compared to the rest (even long standing ones) there !
As for use of SMS, i find that MY seems more advanced in innovative uses of such new technology compared to SGP. Look @ live video broadcasting of TV programs like news on handphones from DiGi, offered @ a time when no phone operator seems to offer it in SGP yet ! For me, i use 2 handphones (1 MY & 1 SGP based) so i'm able to 1st hand sense the superior cost:benefit ratio & the more advanced level of sophistication from the MY operator over the SGP one i happen to use !! So i'm not surprised if such SMS notification services be available in MY before even being talked about or heard of in SGP.
From my most recent trip on CW3 to Johor from Jurong East, i notice
the Tuas CIQ processing was more inefficiently slow than usual that the bus driver even fell asleep while waiting for people to return ! 10 minutes longer than normal wasted @ Tuas as such. The 2 counters usually opened in the largely under-used complex were lined with almost 1 bus-length of people each row when we arrived yet they can't be bothered to open just 1 more counter for a few minutes to separate the processing from the slower 'tourist' crowd there !! The ticket inspector did headcount before waking up the driver to move off. Upon reaching Gelang Patah the transfer was the quickest so far i've experienced on CW3 i.e. within 5 minutes all passengers from the incoming CW3 transferred onto either another CW3 or 666 & both left that station ! I notice now they have a short 'shuttle bus' plying between Bukit Indah & Gelang Patah station, likely an M-B OF chassi like that used in 112.
The quick 5 mins. transfer @ Gelang Patah was however 'compensated' by much slower 'tortise crawling' on the expressways later where instead of the usual 110+ km/h, the bus was only dragging along @ around 75 km/h only & overtaken all over by other vehicles while the driver seemed distracted by a SFO (small flying object) inside the bus which he can't get rid off !! So it was a rather impatient slow ride (for me) all the way to Bukit Indah in fact all the way to JBCS, where i ended my 'test ride'. Hope that's strictly exceptional rather the norm ! Therefore overall time from Jurong East to Wong Ah Fook that afternoon barely below 2 hours, longer than my previous rides ! -
Cinemas i don't know as i don't watch much films but in handphone operations (since i'm a DiGi subscriber) i believe they are more advanced than say StarHub (which i'm also subscriber). Their cost:benefit also seems more attractive than SGP operators. Same as for their Internet broadband speeds versus subscription rates etc.
Handal Indah, i recall have plans to operate citybus services in KL. Maybe even already started ? Between JB & KL, in some ways i think it's logical they try out the newest buses in KL since it's the Malaysian capital where traffic is probably the most dense in MY as a whole. But noting that TransitLink started using a 1st world grade bus model like the O 405 since around 1995 in JB instead of in KL (which used MAN SL252 then), i would also not be surprised if JB instead becomes another 'testing ground' for any new citybus model in Malaysia !
Perhaps also the urge to show-off to neighbouring Singapore that they need not always have to be the more backward ones in everything just because they are still 3rd world developing country by economic classification ?!
I have to agree HI (based on the grade of buses they have so far) seems the most likely operator to lead the way if articulated buses were used in MY.
I think they should the least try the M-B O 500 U in articulated form, so that you get both low-floor (possibly low enough to be ultra-low since only ~ 350 mm road clearance ?) & articulated bus the same time, something i don't think any operator in SGP currently have ? With the same OM 906 LA engine as their entry-level low-floor rigid model but in the original Euro-3 form instead. If next time they want Citaro then due to the common parts sharing, i'll help in the economics & maintenance aspsects too since standardisation does make it easier for their maintenance staff as less new things to be learnt & they can buy parts in larger quantity for better rates etc.Originally posted by carbikebus:Agreed with you Mister,I do believe that MY Are more advance than SG in terms of other things ie:Cinemas,The latest movies are shown there before reaching SG.I do really hope that big cities in JB & KL are allowed to use articulate buses and i'm pretty sure that HI will pioneered it. -
In a news article on Sinchew Daily last week, the Handal Indah boss asked the CW3 passengers to give Handal Indah a month for it to sort out the problem of driver shortage.Originally posted by purplecrazed:Anyway, it's the 4th week of operation now and I've come to realised that whenever a driver who's scheduled to depart from Kotaraya at a particular time in the morning is having his off day/MC/leave, there doesn't seem to be a replacement for him. End up passengers standing along Tmn Perling & Bkt Indah will hv to wait for the next bus that comes 20mins later, causing us to feel anxious because the bus which we usually board at a particular time did not turn up. It has happened a few times before and this morning was another classic example. -
If we can see that Handal Indah is listening and responding to feedback from customers, we should encourage them and give them time to make improvement. It's really not easy to manage a bus company...
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Oh yeah... i saw that they've been posting job ads on jobstreet.comOriginally posted by hannwei:In a news article on Sinchew Daily last week, the Handal Indah boss asked the CW3 passengers to give Handal Indah a month for it to sort out the problem of driver shortage.
http://my.jobstreet.com/jobs/by_nonexec328.htm
Here's what they wrote: (read the last line... interesting huh?)
Handal Indah is the company behind Causeway Link, and we have been in operation since late 2002. Handal Indah is constantly seeking for ways to bring about an even higher level of service for our customers, and we are always on the look out for highly driven and outstanding individuals to join our creative and dedicated team.
Operation Supervisor
(Johor - Johor Bahru)
Requirements:
• Minimum 2 years working experience in handling accident and insurances claim.
• Able to work independently, responsibility and requires minimum supervision.
• Computer literate.
• Able to converse well in English, Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia.
• Experience in bus related field is an add in advantage.
If you think you are up to the challenge to make a real difference in Malaysia's public road services, and you truly take pride in having your work constantly under the scrutiny of the public, WE WANT YOU!! -
From HI's job ad on jobstreet.com.my:
HI: ...... Handal Indah is constantly seeking for ways to bring about an even higher level of service for our customers........
purplecrazed: Yeah, i sure like what they say...
HI: ..... and we are always on the look out for highly driven and outstanding individuals to join our creative and dedicated team.
purplecrazed: Not sure abt their staff being highly driven though...
HI: ..... If you think you are up to the challenge to make a real difference in Malaysia's public road services.......
purplecrazed: I sure hope so... since HI has come this far...
HI: ..... and you truly take pride in having your work constantly under the scrutiny of the public...
purplecrazed: Oh yeah, we've been scrutinizing left, right, centre...
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HI: ..... and you truly take pride in having your work constantly under the scrutiny of the public...
I like this one. Very important to let potential staff know what they are in for. Just like in typical ads for stressful jobs:
able to take challenges, work under stress without supervision, work irregular hours and on weekends -
Seems they forgot to mention 'Malaysians only' since i do believe Malaysia remains more 'closed' to 'foreign talent' than Singapore ?!?
Originally posted by surfbabe:
I like this one. Very important to let potential staff know what they are in for. Just like in typical ads for stressful jobs:
[b]able to take challenges, work under stress without supervision, work irregular hours and on weekends[/b] -
Maybe they didn't mention because it's on jobstreet.com.MY and not jobstreet.com.sgOriginally posted by hseochin:Seems they forgot to mention 'Malaysians only' since i do believe Malaysia remains more 'closed' to 'foreign talent' than Singapore ?!?
Or maybe they think it's not likely that any S'poreans would apply?
Or even if there're foreign workers, e.g. Indonesians, it's also not likely these group of people fall into this category of job application. -
Because they are trying to get locals to take buses, of course, with cheap road tax and road tax waived to motorcycle, you think the job is easy?Originally posted by surfbabe:If we can see that Handal Indah is listening and responding to feedback from customers, we should encourage them and give them time to make improvement. It's really not easy to manage a bus company...
Give us new buses no use, still have to improve frequency -
A bit off topic, but has the HI Express service from IMM to KL commenced yet? If yes, how are the fares like?
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Not yet start....Originally posted by iveco:A bit off topic, but has the HI Express service from IMM to KL commenced yet? If yes, how are the fares like? -
If they really have problems getting enough drivers, then i'm not surprised other new routes like SGP-KL be delayed. I find that they have to give priority to the more 'vital' routes like CW3, where competition is far less intense compared to SGP-KL, where there's already so many operators (maybe too many !) plying.
Of late i've seen CW3 with 100 % passenger loading 'full house' during the evening peak hours leaving for JB. People don't seem to mind standing for the 0.5 hour trip to Johor CIQ. I see good (especially future) business potential for the taxis & other Malaysian operators to ply from Gelang Patah station to the various estates nearby there. Finally it seems the market is waking up & responding to the existence of CW3 ! The Johor CIQ should provide taxi stand so that those really in a hurry after leaving the CIQ have the choice to take a taxi instead of continuing to stand till Gelang Patah station.Originally posted by purplecrazed:Not yet start.... -
HI should deploy the articulated buses on the SG-KL route as most conditions are suitable(I am quite sure of NS Highway but not sure about where they will stop in KL).Originally posted by hseochin:If they really have problems getting enough drivers, then i'm not surprised other new routes like SGP-KL be delayed. I find that they have to give priority to the more 'vital' routes like CW3, where competition is far less intense compared to SGP-KL, where there's already so many operators (maybe too many !) plying. -
I notice that nowadays, most likely due to the presense of far too many operators doing JB-KL or SGP-KL route, there's this low (passenger) load problem which is becoming too common unless it's during the peak travel season like school holidays or public holidays.
So typically the various operators all already have problems getting enough passengers & i've ever seen HI's JB-KL with only 2 passengers !! In that case they transferred those 2 passengers to somewhere else as they didn't want to waste their brand new coach on only 2 passengers to KL ! Other times of course it can be 100 % 'full house' during those times mentioned above.
Therefore i won't consider it worthwhile overall to use articulated vehicles for such long distance routes where demand tends to be far lower in absolute numbers with only some periods of high demand. That means most the time the larger capacity vehicles would be greatly under-utilised.
Instead i consider articulated buses much more suitable for shorter distance routes of regular high peak passenger loading (as on CW3) & with their driver shortage problems, all the more justified to use them there but of course schedule it to operate only during the peak hours to minimise wastage. Of late i've noticed HI has as many as 4 buses parked @ Jurong East interchange @ once so with articulated buses they can possibly reduce that by 50 % & driver requirement by 50 % also.Originally posted by SBS9889U:HI should deploy the articulated buses on the SG-KL route as most conditions are suitable(I am quite sure of NS Highway but not sure about where they will stop in KL). -
On further thoughts, i'll say afterall there could be some point in using articulated coaches for SGP-KL route BUT HI would have to offer something qualitatively innovatively different to what's currently available !
Meaning like even more floor space per passenger like using proper individually 'compartmentalised' beds for sleeping & or having wireless internet access in a cyber cafe room with PC's in the trailer section of the articulated coach so as to contain the noise within & not disturbing those in the front section who want to rest etc.
Of course then the fares would tend to be more expensive but least people then pay not merely to travel SGP-KL but just as important in this case, a different class of travel experience as well ! They then be fishing for a different class of passenger altogether which i'll say only tend to have a few. Maybe worth trying if they can spare the resource !Originally posted by hseochin:I notice that nowadays, most likely due to the presense of far too many operators doing JB-KL or SGP-KL route, there's this low (passenger) load problem which is becoming too common unless it's during the peak travel season like school holidays or public holidays.
So typically the various operators all already have problems getting enough passengers & i've ever seen HI's JB-KL with only 2 passengers !! In that case they transferred those 2 passengers to somewhere else as they didn't want to waste their brand new coach on only 2 passengers to KL ! Other times of course it can be 100 % 'full house' during those times mentioned above.
Therefore i won't consider it worthwhile overall to use articulated vehicles for such long distance routes where demand tends to be far lower in absolute numbers with only some periods of high demand. That means most the time the larger capacity vehicles would be greatly under-utilised.
Instead i consider articulated buses much more suitable for shorter distance routes of regular high peak passenger loading (as on CW3) & with their driver shortage problems, all the more justified to use them there but of course schedule it to operate only during the peak hours to minimise wastage. Of late i've noticed HI has as many as 4 buses parked @ Jurong East interchange @ once so with articulated buses they can possibly reduce that by 50 % & driver requirement by 50 % also. -
I can only say that till today many of us still have to bear with CW3's occassional unpredictability.Originally posted by hseochin:If they really have problems getting enough drivers, then i'm not surprised other new routes like SGP-KL be delayed. I find that they have to give priority to the more 'vital' routes like CW3, where competition is far less intense compared to SGP-KL, where there's already so many operators (maybe too many !) plying.
Of late i've seen CW3 with 100 % passenger loading 'full house' during the evening peak hours leaving for JB. People don't seem to mind standing for the 0.5 hour trip to Johor CIQ. I see good (especially future) business potential for the taxis & other Malaysian operators to ply from Gelang Patah station to the various estates nearby there. Finally it seems the market is waking up & responding to the existence of CW3 ! The Johor CIQ should provide taxi stand so that those really in a hurry after leaving the CIQ have the choice to take a taxi instead of continuing to stand till Gelang Patah station.
The 'full house' is indeed evident both in the morning as well as the evening peak hours but sometimes we still encounter problems like:
i) No CW3 bus coming to pick us up along Tmn Perling between 0600- 0630hrs. Thus, we couldn't make it to Gelang Patah to board the 0640hr bus departing for JE. End up we had to wait till 0630hr before the later bus arrive and PASSENGERS FROM SUPPOSEDLY 2 DIFFERENT TIME SLOTS WERE ALL LUMPED TOGETHER IN THE SAME BUS DEPARTING GP @ 0710HR. That partly explains the 'full house'.
ii) Just last week I boarded the bus which departed JE at 1730hr but upon reaching Gelang Patah, we had to wait another 30mins before there was a bus to Bkt Indah-Tmn Perling. My conversation with the HI coordinator was as follows.
purplecrazed: How come no bus?
HI Coord: Oh, usually there are 6 buses for the Kotaraya-local route but today we're only given 3... I also dunno why... you call up our office and complain lah...."
purplecrazed: Why don't you feedback our complaints to your management?
HI Coord: We feedback also no point, they don't listen to us, they do as they wish... they'll probably only take note if they receive complaints from the passengers themselves...
iii) And today, something strange happened. Besides the fact that there was no bus from Kotaraya-Tmn Perling at the time slot which I've explained above, upon walking out of the immigration, we noticed that there was already a long queue of passengers waiting for CW3 ahead of us but they were NOT the ones who boarded the same bus with us, i.e. 0710hr from GP, instead I realised that those were the ones who boarded the earlier bus, which departed GP @ 0640hr! SURPRISE, SURPRISE!!!!! So now it seemed this morning passengers who boarded the earlier bus were actually were DUMPED AT TUAS CHECKPOINT and they had to wait to get onto the same bus coming from GP at 0710hr. Now, doesn't that beat the whole purpose of trying to catch an early bus??? And... of couse, as a result of combining passengers from 2 different time slots in 1 same bus, many had to stand.... so of course, when the bus reached JE this morning, SBST must have noticed that CW3 was very 'full' indeed.... and there must hv been expressions like "Wahh.. !!! So packed huh?!"
So you see, you see...????!!! CW3 is still not committed to serving us well.
But what to do... we still bear with whatever inconveniences eventhough on the upfront it creates an impressionable CW3. (truth is... it still sucks!) -
So the 6:40 bus passengers have to pack into the same bus as the 7:10 bus passengers?!?? Alamak!! What happened to the 6:40 bus? Did the driver make a U-turn and disappear? How do people report to work on time then?
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Dunno lor... tomorrow if i get to board the 6:40am bus, I'll find out from one of those passengers what exactly happened this morning...Originally posted by surfbabe:So the 6:40 bus passengers have to pack into the same bus as the 7:10 bus passengers?!?? Alamak!! What happened to the 6:40 bus? Did the driver make a U-turn and disappear? How do people report to work on time then?
But for sure it was passengers from 2 different time slot bus lumped together at Tuas Checkpoint because suddenly the bus was became extremely packed, almost like CW1.
I don't know if it's justifiable to still label this sort of incident as a "teething problem" when in actual fact it has never happened before... So you can't say it was a hiccup either... it seemed very intentional...
From the time of its birth to present, CW3 has been known to be the MOST TEMPERAMENTAL of all HI's bus services.
Life with CW3, you never know what you'll get.... sometimes it gives you a rather pleasant ride (the smiling bus alright....) but sometimes it also come with surprises and occasional nightmare when you least expect it. Just learn to get used to it. Yup! -
A similar incident happened on 2005-10-03. The GP->JE bus which departed from GP at 0710 reached the Tuas checkpoint, and departed for JE from the checkpoint together with the 0740 bus. It was because the driver of the 0710 bus lost his AutoPass, and it took more than twenty minutes to fix this.Originally posted by purplecrazed:iii) And today, something strange happened. Besides the fact that there was no bus from Kotaraya-Tmn Perling at the time slot which I've explained above, upon walking out of the immigration, we noticed that there was already a long queue of passengers waiting for CW3 ahead of us but they were NOT the ones who boarded the same bus with us, i.e. 0710hr from GP, instead I realised that those were the ones who boarded the earlier bus, which departed GP @ 0640hr! SURPRISE, SURPRISE!!!!! So now it seemed this morning passengers who boarded the earlier bus were actually were DUMPED AT TUAS CHECKPOINT and they had to wait to get onto the same bus coming from GP at 0710hr. Now, doesn't that beat the whole purpose of trying to catch an early bus??? And... of couse, as a result of combining passengers from 2 different time slots in 1 same bus, many had to stand.... so of course, when the bus reached JE this morning, SBST must have noticed that CW3 was very 'full' indeed.... and there must hv been expressions like "Wahh.. !!! So packed huh?!" -
Oh, I found out from a passenger who boarded the 0640 bus from GP what exactly happened at Tuas Checkpoint yesterday (5-Oct).Originally posted by purplecrazed:.... it seemed this morning passengers who boarded the earlier bus were actually were DUMPED AT TUAS CHECKPOINT and they had to wait to get onto the same bus coming from GP at 0710hr. Now, doesn't that beat the whole purpose of trying to catch an early bus??? And... of couse, as a result of combining passengers from 2 different time slots in 1 same bus, many had to stand.... so of course, when the bus reached JE this morning, SBST must have noticed that CW3 was very 'full' indeed.... and there must hv been expressions like "Wahh.. !!! So packed huh?!"
The bus actually left half of its passengers at the customs because it couldn't wait any longer due to the need to adhere strictly to the timing timed by the HI Time-keeper who was on duty.
As to why half of the passengers were delayed at the immigration was because at that point of time (what luck! ) there was a large group of tourists from another coach who was also queuing and only 3 counters were opened. Besides the tourists, there were also the factory workers and those who van-pooled. So it was simply an unfortunate incident..... CW3 was not to blame. -
Good grief!Originally posted by hannwei:A similar incident happened on 2005-10-03. The GP->JE bus which departed from GP at 0710 reached the Tuas checkpoint, and departed for JE from the checkpoint together with the 0740 bus. It was because the driver of the 0710 bus lost his AutoPass, and it took more than twenty minutes to fix this. -
If one wishes to park his or her car at Gelang Patah and board CW3 there, perhaps he or she should note there is a night market that occupies the carpark in front of Bumiputra Commerce Bank on Tuesdays. I realized this only when returning using CW3 Tuesday night. Had to wait until around 2200 that night for the market to end before I could drive home....
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Originally posted by purplecrazed:
To fix this problem, in order to adhere to the timing while not forcing the left-out passengers who had stuck in the immigration counters for too long, I suggest that the frequency be increased. If the bus can come every 15 minutes, passengers waiting for the bus along the route would not have felt too dissappointed in case one is delayed, so as those stranded in the immigration, who hafta wait for the next bus.
The bus actually left half of its passengers at the customs because it couldn't wait any longer due to the need to adhere strictly to the timing timed by the HI Time-keeper who was on duty.
As to why half of the passengers were delayed at the immigration was because at that point of time (what luck! ) there was a large group of tourists from another coach who was also queuing and only 3 counters were opened.
But this is an expensive proposal which requires huge investment in both hardware and manpower.
Therefore, there's another proposal, which is, to run the 3 segments of the route, ie Jurong - Tuas, Tuas - KSAB and KSAB - Gelang Patah - Kotaraya as separate routes. Of course one can board all three with the same ticket, but delay in one segment will no longer affect operation of other segments.
Of course, immigration should beef up their service standard too. On last Saturday, again, many Chinese tourists were stranded in immigration waiting for their on-the-spot visa for more than 3 hours. Some had tours in Melaka which they had to sacrifice before checking in their hotel in Genting later that evening. This does not paint a much-deserved good image on the country.
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Before I forget, if anyone wants to do some business or knows any relevant company, please talk to the immigration department head at Tanjung Kupang checkpoint about the sale of new autogates. He said the top officials are aware of the high failure rate of the current machines. He also asked for recommendations on replacements. I think the Singapore autogates are not too bad.Originally posted by myshinshin:Of course, immigration should beef up their service standard too. On last Saturday, again, many Chinese tourists were stranded in immigration waiting for their on-the-spot visa for more than 3 hours. Some had tours in Melaka which they had to sacrifice before checking in their hotel in Genting later that evening. This does not paint a much-deserved good image on the country.
If the autogate failure problem is not fixed and the quantity not increased, the immigration clearance rate for Malaysians can drop significantly when the restricted passports cease to be valid in the next one or two years.