Aiyoz eh....call me a stickler for details, but I honestly feel that even while in the process of venting anger, vent it
accurately.
Firstly, one of the major changes this year is the 'free' shuttle buses from Pasir Ris is operated by SMRT Buses, NOT SBS. I'm not sure about why SMRTB has been selected instead, but its believed that SMRTB provides cheaper charters as compared to SBST. However, with cost cutting comes quality cuts. One may think that it makes no difference whether its SBST or SMRTB, but I beg to differ as I list the reasons (which I believe to be operator related) down below.
Below is based on my observation on public day 1:-
1) 42 bendies deployed with 3 12m buses (last minute addition)
In the past, 48 Double Decks were deployed throughout the duration of the public days. A double deck capacity is slightly more than a bendy (about 10 pax), but it does make a difference in mass charters such as this. The airshow site in the past is much more accessible and nearer to Pasir Ris Int, thus translating to a shorter journey and hence greater frequency of the buses.
Now, with the airshow site being significantly further (about 3km) from the former site, the travelling time will increase and correspondingly it is logical that more than 48 double decks would be required to maintain the same level of service as before given the same number of visitors. However, this is not the case on day 1 as there is a reduction of buses and hence carrying capacity!
This theory is true as in day 2 with about 80 buses deployed the situation is very much improved.
2) The SMRT Buses Factor (new) vs SBS Transit (former)
Let me share a simple observation I had on public day 1. Buses which have returned from the airshow site are temporarily parked at Pasir Ris Dr 3 so as not to block traffic on Pasir Ris Central. So in the ideal situation buses would move from dr 3 to pasir ris central to continously board passengers when the filled buses move off.
On an occassion I saw a SMRT staff based at Pasir Ris Ctrl frantically waving his hands in the direction of Dr 3 to get the buses parked there to move forward as there are no more buses to board at Pasir Ris Ctrl! Of course with the trees etc it is hard to spot his actions at the other side so this poor guy has to run all the way to Dr 3 to get the buses moving. And they still have to find the driver for the bus who had probably went to chat with his fellow drivers. Logically, this problem can be simply solved by deploying radio sets among the staff, but they guy holding on to radio at Pasir Ris Ctrl is stoning there and holding it just because he is a senior staff while the poor guy exercising his hand and leg muscles isn't. Bummer....that 5 mins wasted could had gotten a busload or two to the site in time for the aerial display.
Further displays of poor coordination is in the deployment of buses, although they have 4 computers sitting in the white tent probably looking pretty and impressive. I have to state that the road closure timings for the A380 towing out for the aerial display is fixed everyday (except the first trade day) between 12-12.30pm (yes I was there for all the trade days). SMRTB has been operating the expo shuttles then and it caused their buses to bunch understandably. For the next 3 days they refined their deployment and held back buses before the closure to try and maintain a decent frequency, so have to give them credit for that. However, they suddenly seem to have forgotten once it is a public day or expo team never share with pasir ris team, so they made returning buses go one big round around dr 12 when there are actually no more buses to board at Pasir Ris Ctrl. They rectified it eventually and made buses go straight to Ctrl to board passengers, but I still think it is rather unacceptable for no buses to board for up to 8mins at times (that's even worse than peak hours) between 12-2pm when frequency is most affected by the A380 road closure. Maybe its cos in addition to reason 1 as they have insufficient resources to begin with on day 1.
Queues keep growing but not a bus in sight...Day 1
I may seem to be biased against SMRTB in favour of SBST, but as I look back and personally feel that mega events with SBST buses chartered show much greater coordination by the traffic inspectors and with greater reliability. These include IMF 07, past Asian Aerospace shows, as well as the RSAF Open House.
3) Choice of route
Perhaps due to a different boarding location as compared to Asian Aerospace (from Pasir Ris Int), the route on day 1 was to take Pasir Ris Dr 1 then Loyang Ave to the airshow. However, Pasir Ris Dr 1 is studded with plenty of traffic lights, junctions and generally heavier traffic as compared to Pasir Ris Dr 3. On day 2, SMRTB switched to TPE-PIE-ECP-Changi Coast Rd instead on most of the the trips to shorten the journey time (it is amazing how much skipping those traffic lights can save).
Apart from reasons 1-3 that are operator related above, below are 2 more reasons I feel that contributed to the disaster on day 1.
A) Security arrangements
The organisers mentioned about a brand new 6 lane road that improves accessibility this year, which is true as it allowed a/c up to the A380 to be towed along the road. For other vehicles, it is a different story as those Certis Cisco officers (rent-a-cop and not from the home team) feel that it is necessary to reduce to one lane in each direction for security purposes. This has the same effect as a serious accident on CTE that leaves only 1 lane passable during peak hour. I can't see why they can't position one officer in each lane to allow simultaneous checking...at least that should open another lane in each direction.
B) Airshow site
In the past, the airshow site is readily accessible and many visitors take service 9,19 or 89 to changi cargo complex area and take a short walk to the entrance to skip the crowd at Pasir Ris Int or because it is a more convenient choice for them. However for this year it is not accessible by public transport. It didn't help that SMRT charges (probably set by the Airshow organisers I think) an extortionally high $5 for a 15mins (if there is no jam) ride from Expo MRT, thus many decide to go to Pasir Ris instead. Taxi is avoided as far as possible by many due to the recent cab crazy fare increase.
Yupz...those are my honest takes on the public day situation. Having went on a trade day, I would say that the show site is quite spacious as there aren't so many people (though 40k is crazy). The USAF aircraft are also barricaded and visitors aren't allowed to enter except on invitation so unobstructed photos could be had of them. It is just pure bad luck that there is overcast weather on both the public days during the aerial displays; the Black Knights were actually quite good as the white smoke can be seen against the blue sky on the trade days but could be better with coloured smoke which they have to abandon experimenting to prevent a PR disaster.
I'm also quite disappointed with the aircraft mix with almost the same aircraft types represented. A couple of helicopters, the Gulfstream 450 and Legacy 600 all left before the public days so there are fewer aircraft during the public days. Well, with the Boeing Dreamliner and a few other new aircraft projects completed by 2010, let's hope for a better S'pore Airshow 2010!
Cheers!
