THOSE old enough to remember will recall the conductor’s cries for passengers to “masuk, masuk, masuk” (“get in”) and “belakang lagi boleh” (“the back can still fit”) as he/she tried to overload the passenger capacity of the pink Bas Mini of yesteryears.
Yes, those were the days in the 1980s and 1990s when the Bas Mini ‘terrorised’ Klang Valley roads with drivers seemingly able to squeeze through traffic with passengers virtually hanging onto the rails for dear life.
This was indeed the point Chris Yap was making on the Once Upon A Time in Ipoh & Malaysia – Tales from the Past & Present Facebook forum. He noted that you are never late when taking the infamous Bas Mini.
“The nostalgic bus that will rush to your destination on time,” recalled the poster.
The post elicited many memories for city folks. One netizen recalled its infamous nickname of BMW a.k.a. Bas Mini Wilayah.
While a few also mentioned about the infamous over-crowding of the Bas Mini to maximise earnings of bus operators.
Some commenters recounted boarding sardine-packed Bas Mini (the first-generation buses were without air-conditioning) to the extent that the body odour of passengers in close proximity would become unbearable.
Things would be 100-fold worse if a sudden downpour necessitated the windows to be wind up!
More than one brought up memories of the Bas Mini drivers that had little regard for road safety rules.
Whilst another pointed out that a few were busted for being drug-addled.
With a few reminiscing about the price of travel back then – 50 sen for ‘open air’ buses and 60 sen for those with air-conditioning – putting in stark contrast the cost these days, be it the various rail systems or e-hailing cabs.
While most can laugh and reminisce about the “good old days” and how cheap things were, ask if any would actually trade the comforts and convenience of e-hailing rides for the perils of the Bas Mini.
Would anyone let their kids – especially young daughters – be jammed packed into these Bas Mini that were piloted by stuntmen? – Nov 8, 2024
Main image credit: Once Upon A Time in Ipoh & Malaysia – Tales from the Past & Present/Facebook
