ON NOV 30, my mother boarded an Aeroline bus at 9.30am to Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. At a rest stop in Machap, they left her behind.

Full Story

I empathise with Lucas Lim. Having his mum stranded at a rest stop on the North-South Highway must have been a harrowing experience for both his mother & him. However, Lucas did not share with us how his mum came to be left behind. Machap is quite a sizeable rest stop with lots of foodstalls, shops, washrooms & even prayer rooms. It is also a popular stopover for coaches & cars, so the place is generally packed. While the bus driver/steward should have made a headcount check before moving off, the passengers seated in the immediate vicinity of Lucas' mum should also have alerted the driver of her absence. On her part, the stranded woman should have made a concerted effort to return to her coach at the appointed time. If she had to answer the urgent call of nature, she should at least have notified another passenger of her whereabouts.

However I must still say that the mother is responsible for her carelessness. Her duty is to keep a watch on the bus and when others are boarding she should have followed suit. She cannot be star gazing and miss the bus (and let her son compalint to Straits Times). This attitude should change. Hope they will do.

My spouse will be overjoyed if my mother is left stranded on her trip.

He will give a reward if she is NOT found.

Lucas,

While you have rightly pointed out there should be a head count, you are also equally responsible for your mother (assuming she is illiterate). If she is literare, then she is even the more have herself to blame. Don't finger point and play the blame game.

Lucas, I understand the situation you have been through. People who haven't even sat on Aeroline buses aren't qualitied to comment.

First, the bus driver should have checked if there are any missing passengers before moving off any stop. I mean, this is a premium bus service and not some cheapo roadside ticket seller at JB. Your mum could have had a fall in the toilet, or may even have been robbed or abducted. In such a situation, shouldn't the bus captain have at least informed his HQ or make a police report for information that there is a missing passenger? It clearly shows that the bus driver was only concerned with getting back to SG as quickly as possible, and passenger safety was the furtherst from his mind.

Eagle2004, don't think you will be young forever. I hope you tell your own mother not to stargaze when she takes a little longer in the toilet.

Creationist555, what has literacy got to do with taking a bus back from KL??

Whatever the argument or reason there has to be only ONE bottomline conclusion which is that the driver or his assistance MUST make a headcount and check with the passengers BEFORE moving off. The consequences of leaving behind a pax is obvious. In this case they had been guilty of letting down their company's name.The onus lies with the bus service company whom the driver and assistant work for and represents. They may even give the tardy pax a dressing down in diplomatic words, but no excuse can be accepted for leaving one of you pax behind whether its his fault or not. There are many pax who would be new to the stops.

This is called professionalism in the service industry. As usual the response from the staff here is typical bo-chap and totally unprofessional. Well known isn't it as far as Singaporeans go?!

Maybe your mum was very late thus the bus didnt wait for her?

MichiganOne

{Eagle2004, don't think you will be young forever. I hope you tell your own mother not to stargaze when she takes a little longer in the toilet}

I gather that you are referring to my imposter Eegle2004, & not me, Eagle2004.

This Eegle2004 also goes by the monikers Mrs_Prokinetic, Mrs_Eagle & Mrs_Eagle2004.

What is Cause and Effect?

If humans do not understand this Principle and respect it, then all unpleasantness in life might not just come singly, sometime double and even triple.