Capping run times among moves to enhance bus safety

Task force also urges wider use of tech and better management of road works

- Vanessa Paige Chelvan

A task force scrutinising the safety of public buses here has released a raft of recommendations to better support drivers. Among these are equipping buses with a collision warning system, capping the run times of new routes within two hours, and extending drivers' meal breaks from 25 minutes to 30 minutes.

The task force also proposed that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) work with Singapore's four public bus operators to offer monetary and other incentives to drivers with good safety records.

The task force's recommendations are centred on supporting bus drivers in three broad areas:

• Giving them a range of technological tools to help them drive safely

• Bettering their working conditions by capping the run time - or the time taken to complete a bus route - to two hours for new routes, and offering safety incentives

• Improving the management of road works, which can hinder the movement of buses

These recommendations were accepted by the Government on March 5. The 30-page report is the culmination of a months-long exercise led by Minister of State for Transport Murali Pillai.

There are about 9,500 public bus drivers in Singapore who operate 5,800 buses across more than 360 routes. Maintaining a strong safety record for a system of this scale requires sustained and unceasing effort, said Mr Murali on March 5 during the debate on the Ministry of Transport's budget.

In the report, Mr Murali wrote that a key insight from the task force's consultations with bus drivers, members of the public, and local and international safety experts was "the need to pay attention to the human element in issues of safety, in particular, the key role of the driver".