Opening Remarks by Acting Minister for Transport Mr Jeffrey Siow at the Caring Commuter Week 2025 Launch Event

Ms Janet Ang, Chairperson of the Public Transport Council (PTC) and Caring SG Commuters Committee,  

Mr Ng Lang, Chief Executive of the Land Transport Authority, 

Distinguished guests, 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

1.     Good afternoon. Happy to be here at this year’s Caring Commuter Week. This is my first Caring Commuter Week.  

2.     When Janet invited me, I could not fit the event into my schedule at first. But I decided that I must support the PTC, so here I am.

3.     Most Singaporeans associate the PTC with transport fare reviews. But actually, the PTC does much more.

a.     Its mission is to support the MOT and the LTA to improve our public transport system – from service quality to travel experience.

b.     PTC does so by collecting feedback, putting out messages, and running programmes and events to help foster a positive commuter culture.

c.     This part of the work is lesser known, but very important.

4.     Since 2017, the PTC has spearheaded the Caring SG Commuters Movement.

a.     The objective of the Movement is to make public transport more gracious, inclusive, and accessible.

b.     The PTC has done this by bringing together many volunteers and organisations to spread care and kindness on public transport, including more than 16,000 Caring Commuter Champions today.  

5.     Today, we are specially recognising nine Champions, who have inspired all of us to go the extra mile to help our fellow Singaporeans on public transport. 

Transport as a Shared Experience 

6.     In Singapore, we generally have a positive commuting culture.

a.     We give up seats to those who need it more.

b.     We move to the centre of the bus or train to make way for others.

c.     We smile to show appreciation to our bus captains and our train personnel, and some even offer them snacks and water.

d.     These small acts of kindness often go unnoticed, but make a big difference to those who receive them.  

7.     The Caring Commuter movement celebrates these acts; to reinforce the positive social norms that help improve the day-to-day public transport experience.  

8.     When called upon, Singaporeans generally step up to help. But sometimes we may not know when someone else needs assistance, especially when it is not immediately obvious.

a.     To support commuters with invisible conditions, we introduced a “Helping Hand” scheme.

b.     Commuters who need assistance can wear a yellow card and identify themselves, so that the community can know that these are the people who need help. I hope that those who are shy to offer help can step forward for these commuters. This is what it looks like.

c.     Glad that our transport operators have added “Helping Hand” signs near priority seats on trains and buses to further increase the awareness of this initiative.

9.     For a caring culture to be pervasive, it is important to instil the right values from a young age.

a.     PTC has been partnering many schools, from kindergartens to tertiary institutions, to reach out to the next generation.

b.     Today, PTC is launching the Young ChangeMakers – Caring SG Commuters grant, which will provide up to $7,000 for youth-led projects that encourage kindness on public transport.  

Everyone has a role to play 

10.    Public transport is thus not just about the hardware – the buses and trains – but about people and community, and the shared experience.

11.    All of us play a role in fostering a caring culture on public transport. The foundation of such a culture is empathy.

a.     We tend to focus on our own experience of public transport.

b.     It is not always easy to understand others’ perspectives. Let me share two examples.

12.    Recently, we have been introducing a number of new bus routes, including a few in Chua Chu Kang.  

a.     Some commuters wrote to me to ask why the bus route is so long, and if I can cut down the journey time.

b.     But when I suggest that I reduce the number of bus stops to cut down the journey time, especially the one near their homes, they quickly say no thanks.   

13.    I also often receive emails from mothers with young children who take the bus.

a.     When they board the bus, they may be asked by the bus driver to fold their stroller and carry their child because the bus is crowded.

b.     The problem is – they’re often carrying heavy bags with diapers and milk bottles, maybe even caring for another child. So I totally understand the difficulty.

c.     This situation usually occurs when the bus is crowded, and there is a wheelchair user in the bus, who has no alternative. 

d.     We want public transport to be inclusive. If there is space to fit both the stroller and the wheelchair in the bus safely, that would be ideal.

e.     But if it is not possible, we have to ask for passengers’ understanding if bus captains have to ask either party to accommodate the other. 

14.    These examples illustrate how public transport is a personal experience, but also a communal experience.

a.     We all have different needs, but share the same space.

b.     So if each one of us can be a little more understanding, empathetic and patient, the experience will be better for all.

c.     That’s why conversations are so important.

d.     When people share their experiences and perspectives and listen to one another, that’s where we can find common ground. 

15.    Two months ago, I announced that LTA would embark on a new series of public engagements for our next Land Transport Master Plan.

a.     Over the next 12 months, we will hold face-to-face and online discussions, for commuters to share your transport needs and aspirations, and to also hear from one other.

b.     This will be LTA’s largest outreach exercise to date.  

16.    Later today, MOS Baey Yam Keng and I will kick off the first engagement with our Friends of Land Transport. We want to start the journey with you, because you care the most, and give very useful feedback about our public transport system. 

17.    I hope that with our series of engagements, more Singaporeans will feel the same sense of ownership, pride and love with our public transport – that this is something that belongs to them – and move from being passengers to partners, working with the government to shape our transport future.

18.    This way, we can build a common vision of transport that we all share.

19.    And Singaporeans recognise that all we are trying to achieve is the greatest good, for the greatest number.

20.    Because, ultimately, transport is not just about moving faster or more efficiently. It is whether we are moving together as one people. 

21.    Thank you.