On Dec 9, I boarded bus service 502 from Thong Teck Building along Orchard Road at about 1.20pm. Upon boarding, I found that my student's ez-link card had insufficient value, and was prepared to pay in cash.

The driver asked for my destination, then told me to pay $2.30 in cash. I complied, though somewhat nonplussed. I later alighted at Parc Oasis station at about 1.55pm.

I thought that service 502, being an express service, was perhaps an exception to the students' concessionary fare I thought I should have paid.

However, upon checking the SBS Transit website, I found that students taking any bus service on SBS need to pay 45cents in ez-link fare or 55 cents in cash.

I was in school uniform and had my student's identification ready if asked to show it. Why then, was I asked to pay the adult fare?

Does SBS Transit, contrary to what is expressed on its website, charge students adult fare on 'special' services such as express buses, Nite Owl and others?

Huang Xinyuan (Miss)

This article was first published in The Straits Times on December 28, 2008.