One of the key features of studying abroad is traveling within your host country and to nearby destinations. As a student in Singapore, there are multiple ways to travel within the university campus and around Singapore. I have listed five methods of transportation that I have used to get around Singapore.
1. Walking: At GW, I'm accustomed to walking to get to class, extracurricular activities, and exploring D.C. However, the campus at NUS is not only significantly larger than that of GW but also has more hills and slopes. Moreover, the constant humidity and heat in Singapore makes it difficult to travel long distances by foot. Consequently, most people do not walk everywhere around the campus of NUS. Fortunately, most classes in similar departments and areas of study are located close to each other. In Singapore, "colleges" replaced with the name "faculty of". For example, the GW College of Arts and Sciences is called the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at NUS. Each of the faculties around campus have their own cafeterias. This also makes it much easier for students to walk and find food between classes.
2. Bus: Because of the sheer size of the campus, NUS provides free bus transportation around different faculties and dorms. This is the main form of transportation around NUS. There are four main bus lines: A, B, C, and D. The D buses take me from my dorm to my classes at the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. The A, B, and C buses also travel to many of the same stops as the D buses as well as other places that the D bus does not go to. The bus also stops at the nearest metro station on campus called the Kent Ridge Station. The buses have wifi, are air conditioned, have a few seats for people to sit on. However, during the day, the bus is often packed with students. There is also an app called NUS NextBus that tells students when the next bus will arrive at their stop. Unfortunately, the buses do not run on constant schedule. Sometimes I only have to wait for two to five minutes for the bus whereas other times I have to wait more than twenty minutes. These buses run from approximately 9am to 11:20pm. In addition to the bus offered by the university, at least two local metro bus lines run at limited stops around campus. While it costs money, these buses are very helpful when I am trying to travel somewhere off campus or if it is past 11:20pm. However, the local buses also stop running around 12:30am so it is important to try to manage your time to make sure you can get a bus back to your room.
3. MRT: Singapore has one of the best pubic transport systems that I have used. Being from Boston and studying in D.C, I have had my fair share of rides on the T and the Metro. When compared to the T and Metro, the MRT in Singapore is significantly better. The stations are very clean, the trains are almost always on time, the trains come frequently and rarely, if ever, have delays. Before arriving in Singapore, I was told by family and friends to avoid bringing chewing gum into Singapore as it is forbidden and I could get punished for it. However, I have learned that the reason for the strict gum ban is that people used to spit their gum between the doors of the MRT which would jam and clog up the entire line causing significant delays. Another interesting fact is the newer trains are all automated and have no drivers. The MRT is also very cheap and usually costs less than SGD$2 to travel from NUS to downtown Singapore. If I had to make one complaint about the MRT, it would that it takes a long time to get into city as there are multiple stops and transfer stations in between. However, the numerous stops also allow for greater accessibility for those in other locations around Singapore. Many Singaporeans do not own cars because it usually cost over SGD$100,000 to get a car. This is because Singapore controls how many cars are on the road by selling a select number of Certificate of Entitlement (COE) to residents. Therefore, most residents take the MRT to get around Singapore.
4. Uber: When I first arrived in Singapore, I used an Uber to get to NUS. Changi International Airport (eastern side of Singapore) to NUS campus (western side of Singapore) is around a 20 minute drive. While the MRT does go from Changi to NUS, the ride can take over an hour. Therefore, Uber is a really convenient option in those scenarios. However, because the public transportation system in Singapore is so efficient, Uber and taxis in general are not very necessary.