Bus breakdown outside NTU causes massive traffic jam, students forced to alight & walk

Huge jam spotted at roundabout near NTU after bus breaks down, students stranded for over an hour

A bus breakdown outside Nanyang Technological University (NTU) on Monday (8 Sept) caused chaos for students, with nearly 10 buses stuck behind the stranded vehicle and traffic brought to a standstill.

The incident occurred at around 5.50pm along Pioneer Road North, near the roundabout leading to NTU.

Students were left stranded, with many forced to walk to and from campus as delays stretched over an hour.

Bus breakdown triggers chaos outside NTU

Ms Huang (surname transliterated), 27, a PhD student at NTU, told Shin Min Daily News that she started waiting for bus service 179 to the MRT station at around 6pm.

However, despite waiting for more than 10 minutes, there was still no sign of the bus.

“It was unusual. No buses showed up during the normally busy 5pm to 6pm period, leaving many students waiting in vain,” she said.

After checking relevant apps, Ms Huang realised that a bus had broken down, causing traffic congestion.

That was when she decided to take a campus shuttle to the school entrance and walk from there to the MRT station.

A notification issued at 5.54pm confirmed that the breakdown had affected traffic along Pioneer Road North and delayed campus shuttle services (Green Line).

Students stuck in traffic jam for over an hour

According to a video provided by Ms Huang, the broken-down bus was stopped in front of the roundabout, with a lorry nearby further worsening the congestion.

At least six other buses were caught in the jam, forcing students to abandon their rides and walk to their destinations.

When a Shin Min reporter arrived at the scene at around 7pm, the broken-down bus was seen blocking one lane of the roundabout.

The other lane had been cleared to allow smaller vehicles to pass through, easing some of the traffic.

However, several buses were still stuck in the jam — including a double-decker bus service 179 — with passengers on board.

Some buses were even forced to take detours to continue their routes.

Among the passengers was Ms Li (surname transliterated), 29, an NTU master’s student who was stuck in traffic for over an hour.

“My class starts at 6.30pm. I usually leave Boon Lay Interchange at 6pm and make it on time, but this time, it took me an hour and a half.”

She said passengers had requested to get off earlier, but the driver only allowed them to disembark around 7.15pm.

Student misses start of class due to bus breakdown

Another master’s student, Ms Sun (surname transliterated), 22, who had been stranded on a campus shuttle, said she boarded at Pioneer MRT station.

She ended up being stuck in the jam for an hour, missing the start of her class.

“Anyway, the class doesn’t end until 9.30pm, so I’ll still go,” she said.

Photos on social media showed overcrowded bus stops, with some students reporting being trapped on buses for at least 30 minutes. Traffic police officers were on-site to manage the jam.

The broken-down bus was finally towed away at around 7.30pm, allowing traffic to resume smoothly.

Also read: Bus breaks down on AYE, passengers stranded for 20 minutes before rescue bus arrives

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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News.