Taking bus in Shanghai?

Weather: Sunny

Temperature: 40°

This is a typical way of Malaysian Chinese going to work in Shanghai:-

Wake up at about 7.30am. If you care about your health, you might want to bite something for breakfast before you walk to the nearest bus top and wait for your bus to come. It will cost you RMB 2 to get to your destination. But normally the bus will not stop exactly at the door step of your office, so you still have to walk about 10 minutes before you reach your office. Oh, I forget to mention that catching a bus during peak hour is basically a nightmare. You need to be agile for you will be squeezed like tuna fish for solid 20 minutes or so. If it's your lucky day, the person next to you might be a beautiful office lady covered with expensive perfume. That makes the journey less tormenting. I do not need to paint the picture for you if it's otherwise.

During one of the dinners, I asked Bom, "you prefer driving in Malaysia, or using public transport in Shanghai?"

Bom did not answer immediately. He thought for a few seconds then answered, "can I choose taking public transport to work, but driving for leisure?". "Nope, either one not both." I replied. "then I will go for public transport in Shanghai." Bom said.

That brings me back to the question I often ask Malaysians here and myself:- why are you in Shanghai?

I have a car in Malaysia. I drive to anywhere and everywhere. Eventhough the convenient store is just meters away, I will still drive there. The last time I took a bus in Klang was years ago when I was still in High School. Because then I did not have a driving license or a car.

But when I was trapped in the morning traffic in Federal Highway while on my way to KL courts, I realised I actually do not enjoy driving that much. If I were given a choice, I don't mind taking public transport. Do I have a choice in Malaysia? Emm... lets see.

I stay in Sg. Jati, Sentosa, Klang. It's a rural area not many people know. The only bus I saw around here is "Bus Kilang" (factory bus). It would be lucky enough if the ambulance is willing to travel here to pick up the sicks.

But I guess to be fair, if I want to walk to the nearest bus stop (which I am not sure where), I could still find a bus to Klang town centre. But what would the frequency of the bus be? 10 minutes interval per bus? 20 minutes? or half an hour? Here in Shanghai it's just a few minutes, no joke.

Ok, once I reach Klang town, how am I going to KL? Ok, there are many buses which routes include KL. But I am not going to Petaling Street or Bukit Bintang. I am going to courts (and I am not talking about the rural courts in Kuala Selangor or Teluk Datok, I am talking about the second largest court building in the world), in Jalan Duta. How to get there? Is there any LRT station there? What if I have to be there early? What if I am running out of time? Emm... I don't know seriously.

You see how hard that is? I just want to go to KL from my house by public transport, not to Tanjong Karang, not Jeram, not Bangi, not Sekinchan, it's Kuala Lumpur, the capitol of Malaysia!! And it's already that hard! Needless to talk about other "less-developed" towns or cities.



I am not sure about you. As for me, if I could take one bus to my office, I will not drive to work. If I could take LRT to work, I will save my petrol. If I could safe petrol, I could buy many other things. If I could buy any other things, I will not use it on petrol. That's my logic.