A man has complained about the system of bumboat ride to and from Pulau Ubin, saying he was forced to pay S$48 to charter a boat back to the mainland after refusing to pay the boatman S$5.
Mr Simon Seah Sing Hon wrote in to The Straits Times Forum Page, claiming that such “issues with transportation” would discourage visitors from the island.
Source: Google Maps. Photo for illustration purposes only.
Mr Seah recalled trying to board a boat from Pulau Ubin’s ferry terminal at about 6pm on 22 Aug.
In a subsequent report published by Shin Min Daily News, it was revealed that Mr Seah was with his wife at the time.
As there were 10 passengers in total, the boatman asked all of them to pay S$5 each, instead of the usual sum of S$4.
When asked why, the boatman allegedly replied that he needed 12 passengers to depart.
As Mr Seah found this unreasonable, he refused to pay S$5 each for himself and his wife.
According to him, they had paid only S$4 each on the trip from Changi to Ubin, although there were also fewer than 12 passengers on board at the time, he noted, adding:
The operator was obviously relying on passengers’ urgency to return home to insist on his full load.
After Mr Seah and his wife refused to pay, the boatman demanded S$6 each from the remaining eight passengers, who agreed to fork out the cash.
The boat then left without them.
Source: Google Maps
Mr Seah and his wife waited an hour more till 7pm, but no other passengers arrived at the terminal.
The island’s security guard, who finished work at 7pm, said they could hitch a ride back on his boat, but he would have to ask the boatman first.
Unfortunately for them, it was the same boatman as before, who allegedly refused to take them, saying only the security guard was allowed on the boat.
Stranded, Mr Seah called the National Parks Board (NParks), who advised them to contact the boat operator.
The couple finally managed to leave the island after paying S$48 to charter a boat just for themselves.
Mr Seah criticised the system, saying that boat schedules should be fixed and not dependent on the number of passengers.
He also slammed the lack of transparency regarding ticket fares, suggesting they should be clearly displayed, adding:
Nowhere in Singapore does this kind of transport service exist where the operator insists on a full load or asks the passengers to pay for the shortfall.
Furthermore, he pointed out that they only accept cash and not even PayNow, which makes it inconvenient for passengers.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
He said the incident made him feel like a “hostage” on the island and unable to return home without paying.
He did not want to go back to Pulau Ubin and feared that it might cause foreign tourists to have a bad impression.
However, the boatman involved has denied taking advantage of passengers.
Speaking to Shin Min Daily, Mr Jie Guoyuan (name transliterated from Chinese) said each boat trip is charged at S$48, which is the industry standard.
That means if there are 12 passengers, each can pay S$4.
But as it was getting late that evening and there were only 10 passengers, he had to charge each of them S$1 more to make up for the shortfall, he explained.
However, Mr Seah and his wife refused to pay S$1 more — Mr Jie tried to explain to them that they would not be able to get 10 more passengers to join them on the next boat, but they would not listen, he claimed.
Since there were only eight passengers left without the couple, he had to charge each of them S$6.
Mr Jie added that he always negotiates and agrees the price with passengers before the boat leaves. He also professed never to have engaged in price-gouging.
As for what happened later, Mr Jie said the security guard had booked the boat, so he refused to take the couple.
According to NParks’ website, the bumboats are privately managed transport services that usually operate on demand from 6am to 7pm daily, typically charging S$4 per person one-way.
While they usually depart when there are 12 passengers on board, they may also depart with fewer than 12 at a higher fare per passenger.
As this is based on private arrangements between the passengers and operators, NParks advised passengers to confirm their fare before departure.
Visitors who need a boat outside operating hours should make prior arrangements with the operators or call NParks for assistance if no bumboats are available to return to the mainland.
Also read: Pulau Ubin store owner insists on carrying on decades-old family biz despite losing S$6k last year
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Google Maps.