Transtar VIP Solitaire coach ride from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur - Review

Gonna blog abt my first time experience via a mega 14 seaters VIP coach by Transtar from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur.

The one-way ticket is $52. There is an additional 3% admin charge which works out to $53.53. I am not sure what is the normal coach price though. The VIP coach ride is meant to sell an experience, as if you are on a business or first class flight. I guess the coach style travel between Malaysia and Singapore is gradually losing out to all the budget airlines that are selling promo seat as low as $30 for one way, hence the attempt by coach companies to retain market share through the innovations and frills of VIP coaches.  

Anyway, the 14 seaters comes with all the extra cool stuff like a fully reclining seat with in-coach entertainment like on-demand video and games. The ride also included a meal and drink served by a female coach attendant similar to a flight attendant. I will try to assess the overall experience in detail.

1) Punctuality and timing - my coach is scheduled at 7am at Golden Mile Complex and to leave at 730am. I arrived too early at abt 6:50 am and checked in without any waiting at the Trans Star counter at level 1. The coach didn't arrived until  around 7:15am. By that time I was already across the street having a milo at a coffee shop, being tired of standing around waiting. Received a call at about 7:25am  when I was on the way to the bus - the bus is ready to leave. The bus left on the dot at 7:30am! A major plus point as I had half expected coaches to dilly dally for another 15 mins. There is a 10 mins toilet break at 10:30am.

2) Cleanliness - the coach is reasonably clean and smells fresh, not musty. The only icky stuff is the cushion on the seat which I suspect they do not wash the cover. I'm also not touching the blanket given as I'm quite particular abt common goods being sanitized before the next user. 

3) Service - on top of the friendly call at 7:25am to check my whereabouts and the right on time departure, I am satisfied with coach personnel's services on the coach. Good English spoken, unlike the alien language spoke by some airline's attendants. The coach attendant asked us on the preference of drinks ( coffee or tea ) at about 8:40am after we parted the Malaysia custom, and the food and drink were served at 8:45am ( Ya, I actually noted down the timing so I can blog about it lah.) She came around to collect the trays after about 20-25 mins so that we can go back to our reclined mode. Lol.

4) Food and drinks - a bottle of mineral water is placed in a side compartment of the chair. That's a good gesture if you ask me. A long ride without water can be hell. The breakfast was a pre-packed bento (No option given). If you look at the picture, nothing fancy about it. Edible. I find the bee hoon quite nice. But then again I was really hungry by 8:45am lah. The side dishes of fried hotdog, dumplings and dunno what's that, are dismissible. The coffee was ok. Taste like 3-in-1. There is another round of drink service after the first toilet break at 10:30am.

5) Seat - The best thing about traveling via the VIP coach must be the seat lah! The whole bus had only 14 seats, of course it's gonna be good! 14 seaters also minimize the chances of you being stuck in a long journey with big families (with children and babies) yakking non stop. The seat comes with some awesome functions. A remote control on the side of the seat lets you control exactly the angle you wanna rest in. You can recline backward with a button, lift a leg rest segment to support your calves with another button,  and lift a foot rest segment with yet another button. The chair also comes with massaging function (weird to me, but some people might like it.).

6) Entertainment - Enjoyed 2 free movies on the ride! Not bad. Pretty wide selection!

P/S: The return ride from KL to Singapore was somehow cheaper at $36 excluding admin fees.

Overall verdict: 7.5/10 - I mean it's pretty good, but the journey is longer than flight (abt 4.5-5 hrs) and u gotta control ur bladder. There is only one rest stop for ten mins and those toilets are extremely dirty... :-(. Otherwise the coach experience was pretty good.