We decided to head over to Pulau Ubin for a quick visit because I wanted to show her a different side of Singapore.

We arrived at Changi Point Ferry Terminal at 3pm on a weekday and there was no one else waiting for the ferry to Pulau Ubin.

I asked the ferry operator to take us to Pulau Ubin but he pointed to a sign board which stated that the ferry will only depart when there are 12 passengers.

The ferry operator offered to take us to Pulau Ubin immediately if we paid the fare for 12 passengers which would cost $24 or wait till there were more passengers.

We waited for 15 minutes but there were no other passengers so we decided to cancel our trip to Pulau Ubin because we felt that the ferry service was too expensive.

The Pulau Ubin ferry service should operate at fixed intervals during off-peak hours when passenger traffic is low.

For the ferry operator to insist on operating the ferry at maximum capacity will result in an unreasonably long wait or higher cost of visiting Pulau Ubin.

Public access to Pulau Ubin should be improved so that everyone can truly enjoy the rich biodiversity and rustic charm of the island.

Darren Goh Wei Rong