My brother had approached me and requested that we ride on a double-decker coach on the return trip back to Singapore. It was kind of unexpected but not surprised with his request. Maybe, all those stories on my trips on the double-decker coaches to Malaysia somehow influenced him on this decision.

There are at least 8 express bus companies which offers the higher end type of coaches on the lucrative Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route. Five Stars, Aeroline, NiCE, Grassland, Airebus, Konsortium, WTS Travel, Luxury Executive, Transtar, Alisan, Odyssey – just to name a few. With onboard frills like personal TVs with video-on-demand, hot meals and drinks, massage seats and others not usually found on conventional coaches, customers certainly don’t mind paying a premium for all these frills, as evident from the ever increasing number of trips and new type of luxurious coaches on these sector.

After listing down some available options which is within the budget, he decided upon Transtar Premium Double-deck. Unfortunately, all seats were sold out on the only trip that day. In fact, Transtar Premium DD has only a single trip on the KL-SIN sector. The other option is of course, the First Class coach. There are brand-new semi-deckers First Class 3G coaches on the route but they are somewhat inconsistent. Another factor on our decision was the pricing, which is on average SGD10 cheaper than it’s closest competitors.

We were told to be at the bus terminal at Pasarakyat 30 minutes before departure time, which we did. Upon arriving at the terminal, I’ve already caught a glimpse of the First Class coach – a single-decker. My brother was not disappointed though, probably because he have prepared himself to be disappointed.

AFG 1111

AFY 777 - First Class 3G

The coach deployed on the 8am trip was a Mercedes Benz IBC1632 with the uber-cool MTrans Irizar PB bodywork, similar to the Mara Liner coach that I took earlier on. Most of Transtar’s First Class coaches are built on the Scania’s K-series chassis so I was rather disappointed that I got the Mercedes one instead. Nonetheless, I was still looking forward to the trip.

The coach can only seat 16 passengers at any one time. Being a First Class coach, passengers are seated on a 1+1 seating configuration, meaning there’s only one row of seats at either side of the coach. The seats are equipped with inbuilt massaging system, operated with a touch of a button. A personal entertainment system with an LCD screen attached is also available, complete with over 170 channels of movies, music and infotainment programmes to choose from. Transtar ups the ante with an onboard coach attendant, who serves hot meals and drinks along the journey.

The coach was spacious and spanking clean. A male coach attendant stood by the coach door, welcoming every passenger onboard the coach. After ensuring all passengers are accounted for, the bus left Pasarakyat Terminal slightly later than scheduled. Breakfast was served on the North-South Highway, soon after the bus left Sungai Besi Toll Plaza. Piping hot Nasi Lemak with Chicken Rendang was served for most of the passengers. Some opted for a vegetarian meal, which I had no idea what it was. Coffee and tea were also served along with the main dish. Every passenger was also given a bottle of mineral water. Only one rest-stop was made, which I missed since I slept for most of the journey.

Performance wise, the journey was a super-smooth one. In fact, it amazes me that the ride was exceptionally comfortable. The suspension was almost perfect. Coupled with the ultra-comfy seats and super-cool aircon, it was hard for me to keep awake for long. The ride was also speedy. It took less than 5 hours to reach Singapore! The coach pulled at the Tuas Checkpoint just after noon, around 4 hours after it left Kuala Lumpur. Fast isn’t it?

Thus far, Transtar Express have made a good impression on me, both on the Premium DD and First Class coaches. However, there are some points which I hoped they can improve upon. Firstly, their online ticketing system. It’s commendable of them to provide such a service. But only a handful of trips were available for the online ticketing. And only a limited number of seats are available for each trip. In comparison with Mara Liner, Mara Liner offers all available trips on any particular date for sale. Ditto for all available seats for each trip available.

Secondly, their ticketing agents can be more courteous towards their non-Chinese customers. Except for my recent purchase, their agents were quite ‘hostile’ towards my queries. I don’t know why they acted like that. Maybe because I looked like someone who may not be a genuine customer? Other than that, I’d certainly recommend Transtar. I’d personally would like to try their new First Class Solitaire coaches. I was also told that they are progressively replacing their first-generation First Class coaches with newer models soon. Whether it will be single-deckers again or state-of-the-art double-deckers remains to be seen. I give Transtar First Class 4.5 out of 5 stars. You may book tickets online at http://www.transtar.com.sg or http://transtar.travel .

This entry was originally published on May 8, 2008.