Christmas Bus

Since becoming a self appointed consumer advocate recently (the toll operators gave me no choice!), bus rides will never be the same again for me. Instead of getting into the bus and force myself to sleep through the entire boring journey, I will take it to task to observe the kind of service extended by Malaysian bus companies.

As Christmas is nearing, I’m heading to Singapore to celebrate Christmas with my sister and family. I’ve chosen the ‘luxury’ Aeroline bus for this trip. The ‘damage’ is RM160 for a return trip. This trip will be my maiden ride with Aeroline. I’ve been a loyal customer of NICE bus (www.parkmayberhad.com/nice.html) for the past few years.

Since Aeroline justified the price by its marketing taglines such as “The Convenient Way to FLY”, “10 daily departures”, “Convenient City-to-City Travel” (check out www.aeroline.com.my), I will certainly have high expectations. Then again, is it fair to expect such high level of customer service from Aeroline since the taglines didn’t mention any promises on customer service? Probably the RM160 excludes world class customer service, it only includes an ever smiling hostess handing me a Styrofoam* pack of vegetarian ‘nasi goreng’ (vegetarian fried rice comes without diced chicken whereas non vegetarian fried rice comes with diced chicken) and diluted coffee (coffee-flavored water) in a Styroforam* cup.

Well, I like to give Aeroline the benefit of doubt. (My motto is never judge until you experience it first hand). With that, I can only tell you my Christmas bus ride next week! So wait for my return and ‘report’.

Selamat Hari Natal (Merry Christmas)!


*Toxic chemicals leach out of these products [include Styrofoam] into the food that they contain (especially when heated in a microwave). These chemicals threaten human health and reproductive systems. Read Article 1 & Article 2.