Transport initiative makes trip to get medicine a breeze

The free shuttle service to Hospital Sultan Ismail drops passengers in front of the lobby.

I CAN relate to the difficulties faced by patients going to Hospital Sultan Ismail (HSI).

It was something I dreaded not because of the wait time at the hospital but the stress from trying to find parking space.

I have to go to the hospital monthly to pick up my father’s medication.

Typically, I would go to HSI to pick up my father’s medication after dropping off my son at kindergarten early in the morning.

Depending on the traffic situation, I would reach around 8.30am but would only be able to leave the hospital around lunchtime.

The long hours spent at HSI were not due to waiting at the pharmacy, but searching for a parking bay.

When the state government introduced the free shuttle service to HSI and Hospital Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA), I decided to give it a go.

I read the bus schedule information on the Instagram page of Johor Public Transport Corporation (PAJ) and drove to Lotus’s hypermarket, where there is ample parking.

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I walked over to the PAJ signboard to wait for the shuttle bus.

Within minutes, the bus arrived.

Upon boarding, I was instructed by the driver to tap my MyKad on the scanner. Then I proceeded to find a seat.

The hypermarket is less than 1km from HSI and the bus stopped right in front of the staircase to the hospital lobby.

After picking up my father’s medicine, I went to the stop marked by the PAJ signboard to wait for the shuttle bus again.

What usually took me about four hours, I accomplished within an hour!

I then decided to try the shuttle service to HSA.

I went to Larkin Sentral and boarded the bus.

However, I noticed there were not many passengers.

The trip to HSA is much longer than the one to HSI.

It is about 10km and has four stops.

Most noticeably, this bus stops at the hospital’s main entrance. It poses a difficulty for senior citizens and those with mobility issues as the distance between the main gate and the lobby area is about 200m.

Overall, the free shuttle buses to HSI and HSA are good initiatives that can save visitors a lot of time and trouble.