Bus service 185 does U-turn in Buona Vista after taking wrong route, SMRT apologises for error
In the early morning of 8 March, a bus captain operating SMRT service 185 took a wrong turn in Buona Vista, leading to an unexpected U-turn that puzzled passers-by.
Bus spotted making slow U-turn
According to Shin Min Daily News, 36-year-old cleaner Ms Zhuo witnessed the incident at 6.39am while on her way to work.
She noticed the bus manoeuvring a U-turn at the junction of North Buona Vista Drive and North Buona Vista Link.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
Ms Zhuo noted that SMRT bus service 185’s route did not lead to this particular junction, as it should have been westbound on Commonwealth Avenue West towards Ghim Moh.
As such, she felt perplexed at the sighting of the vehicle there.
Source: Google Maps
Ms Zhuo suspected that the driver could be new on the route and took a wrong turn by accident.
The bus reportedly slowly made a U-turn on the two-lane North Buona Vista Drive, a manoeuvre which took around a minute to complete.
According to Shin Min, the bus driver was allegedly the sole occupant on the off-course vehicle.
Source: Google Maps
SMRT apologises for inconvenience caused
Mr Vincent Gay, Deputy Managing Director at SMRT Buses, confirmed the incident with MS News, saying that the initial error occurred at around 6.30am that day.
Bus service 185 mistakenly veered left onto North Buona Vista Road instead of continuing straight along Commonwealth Avenue West.
“Upon realising the error, the bus captain made a U-turn at the junction of North Buona Vista Drive and North Buona Vista Link before rejoining the intended route.”
Source: Land Transport Guru, for illustration purposes only
Mr Gay stated that the company had “taken appropriate disciplinary action” against the bus driver and are reinforcing operational protocols to prevent similar incidents.
“We sincerely apologise to the affected passenger for the extended journey time and any inconvenience caused.”
A similar wrong turn incident on 28 Sept 2024 by an SBS Transit bus resulted in three stops being skipped.