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[author note: this topic was previously discussed at 'New Rules : Giving Way to Buses Coming Out From Bus Stop.' (Dec2008)] Mandatory Give Way to Buses Scheme Is Mr Lui Tuck Yew crazy to bend the law to suit his convenience as Minister of Transport? [Source: OneMotoring: 'Mandatory Give Way to Buses Scheme''] [Source: She claims she's a "victim" of new give-way-to-bus rule] Yes, public transport (buses) is Singapore are slow and sucks "Mrs Teo said bus speeds have gone down from 19.1kmh in 2007 to 17.8kmh, as ridership went up from 2.9 million per day to 3.45 million per day in the same time." ['Bus hubs currently the priority and good progress made: Josephine Teo': (TDY18Jan2012)], and in fact, transport by bicycle for journeys 30km and up might average 25.750kmh. [source: 'road-bike.co.uk'] Rather than the drawing up of more bus lanes, it seems that the MOT is getting lazy and thus enacting some confusing stop gap measures like the ridiculous mandatory Give Way to Buses Scheme (GWTBS)- a scheme whose logic if not legality remains both contradictory if not perplexing. It is in fact perhaps oxymoronic that the good Minister now says that the slow speed of buses exiting bus is due to the fast and continuous movement of other vehicular traffic on Singapore roads, since in stationary traffic conditions yellow boxes to provide for 'reserved' space so that exiting buses ALWAYS have right of way. [Dunearn-Newton Rd- bus bay with typical yellow box pict]. Wouldn't the provision of better public transport services cause fewer Singaporeans to demand travel by private car or taxi?- a largely carbon and road use intense mode of private transportation. Isn't the revolving door [wiki] effect of buses entering bus bays the occasion for buses to exit just the same since a bus awaiting entry to a bus bay effectively blocks off all oncoming traffic by virtue of its size? (that is if Minister Lui is adamant about saving bus-lanes painting costs). Mr Lui as Rear Admiral used to be Chief of Navy; with a cannon in front and torpedoes beneath, everyone gave way to the Admiral's ship. But road vehicular traffic is not the same, emergency vehicles get stuck in traffic jams just the same- nobody moves. Everyone needs space on the little land designated for road use: bus lanes besides allowing cyclist free passage (cycling is good for exercise (save govt healthcare costs) and good for the environment (low impact on global warming)) also allow emergency public vehicles free passage to conduct to their rightful roles, even during the heaviest traffic periods on all days. Emergency public vehicles stuck in jams remain a stain upon the efficiency that the PAP boasts its credentials by. The start stop driving by vehicles on the left lane caused by ambiguity as to whether a bus is indeed leaving the bus bay is also another cause for accidents occurring, if not a compromise in time and energy efficiency as drivers operate their brakes with unnecessary intensity. This adds to pollution if not frustration of driving on Singapore roads; foreign talents holding international driving licenses also cannot be expected to understand this paradoxical local law as it is international convention for vehicles along minor roads (bays etc) to give way to vehicles along major roads (e.g. trunk roads): wouldn't an accident due to this legal paradox result in more jams created by unnecessary traffic accidents? One side issue would be that the Minister is being unnecessary cruel to cyclist and motorcyclist in the enaction of the GWTBS law is that the poor rider/ pillion is then expected to breath in the diesel fumes of the exiting bus: not a pleasant experience nor a safe one- considering that the car driver behind might not be able to break in time, having not considered about the need to stop to give way to the exiting bus and result in the poor rider being crushed in-between- another tragic road fatality. Mr Lui's salary is one that mirrors the elite of the elite in Singapore [pict]. Surely being elite is not about just making more money? Don't the people of Singapore demand more than just hare brained stop gap measures in managing public transport and road use in hyper-efficient Singapore? Not everybody can afford a maid [pict link], nor the privilege of private transportation in Singapore [Saw Phiak Hua empress pict]. More for public transport, safer transport for motorcycles and bicycles. Good Minister, Thank you and have a nice day. References: Above: Dunearn-Newton Rd bus bay- yellow box pict. [pict source: Singapore's defense burden - Something no maid can carry] [pict source] - STOMP 29Aug09: “I gave way to bus -- and got rammed from behind”, [link] - STOMP 19Aug09: “I am one of many 'victims' unfairly fined $130 under new 'give way to bus' rule”, [link] [link] [img source]

Saw this while reading 'My Paper' today. Not sure whether it had been posted here already. I think I spotted another mistake in one of the sentence relating to it.

hi wondering if anyone else had this issue just realised i had this problem after trying out on IE8, Firefox, Opera, and Goggle Chrome that if i try to Print a webpage directly from any of the mentioned browser, File -> Print ALL of them will notify it has 'crashed' and need to restart! IE8 pop up a DEP error initially i thot it was the silly IE8 but with the 3 other browsers also behaving in similar way i think the prob run a bit deeper btw, am running XP hope some IT experts here can shed some lights cheers & TIA

As mentiones, can someone let me know how to delete my PM's as it says my mailbox is FULL. I do not want to delete ALL the PM. Only the old, seleceted ones. Some I keep for reference. Also I notoces some errors in my Profile Pgae. I wonder which SOB amended it? & I cant seem to put it right. I became older & my wife died without me knowing. WTF? Maybe some Moderators here can advise? Thanks.

See how arrogant LTA is in not responding properly to customers' complaints. More motorists plagued by errors at ERP gantries FAULTY CashCards or faulty in-vehicle units (IUs) which fail to register at the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantries are continuing to bother motorists. Since The Straits Times reported two weeks ago that 300 motorists a month either paid the $10 fine or jumped through the requisite hoops with the authorities to get these fines waived, more have come forward to say that they too are being plagued by the problem. The Straits Times spoke to 17 of them. They said that although the fines are dropped when they go to the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to explain why they did not pay the ERP charges, they are frustrated at the time and effort it takes to get the fine waived. When contacted, the LTA and the Network for Electronic Transfers (Nets), which issues the CashCards, would say only that they are working on a logistical solution. They gave no details. It is still unclear where the problem lies - with the CashCards or the IUs - and motorists are getting frustrated. Mr Francis Chua, 51, for example, said that he paid the fine the first time it happened, but has since made seven trips to the LTA office to get fine waivers. He said that each of the seven times, the LTA sent him to a licensed vehicle inspection centre, such as Vicom, to get his CashCard and IU checked to confirm that it was a technical problem and not because his CashCard had insufficient funds. Only then would the fine be waived. 'Each time, I waste 1-1/2 hours or more at the LTA office and Vicom to tell them about my problem and to get it verified - not to mention the 30 minutes' car ride in between.' The chief executive officer of a semi-conductor company with 30 years' driving experience said his problems began in the last two months. During this time, he has changed his CashCard six times - to no avail. Among the 17 drivers interviewed, two said they had been fined seven times, one had been fined five times and the rest, once to thrice in the past year. Drivers are hit with a fine whenever the ERP gantry does not detect the CashCard or the IU. Some drivers say they face the same problem entering carparks that use similar systems. Contacted two weeks ago, Nets said the problem is due to compatibility issues with some IUs. It added that tests on its own IUs show that its CashCards are working fine. But the LTA said the problem lies with a particular batch of CashCards issued in 2006 without the 'Gemplus' logo on the card's chip. Another hapless motorist, Ms Stephanie Ong, tried to get the IU in her year-old car changed after being hit with fines five times and changing her CashCard four times. Vicom, saying her IU was fine, refused to change it. The marketing manager in her 30s said: 'In that case, I really don't know what the problem is. It leaves me wondering if it is going to be like this for the rest of my driving experience.' A frustrated Mr Chua suggested that until Nets and LTA fixed the problem, fines should be automatically waived to save drivers the repeated hassle of seeking a waiver. He also called for owed ERP charges to be payable through ATM machines, instead of only through Internet banking or at the LTA office.