Safety Measures and Systems for Bus Captains During Route Diversions and Navigation Support Tools

Written Reply to Parliamentary Question

Ms Valerie Lee asked the Acting Minister for Transport

a.          what measures and systems are in place to support bus captains in navigating safely during route diversions when route familiarity is disrupted; and

b.          whether the Ministry will consider enhanced tools such as real-time GPS navigation prompts or in-vehicle guidance systems to better assist bus captains during such diversions.

Reply by Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow:

1.          Bus captains can request real-time guidance and support through voice communication with their Operations Control Centre during route diversions. Bus captains are also given briefings and route maps of the diverted route prior to starting the journey.

2.          The Land Transport Authority will work with bus operators to evaluate and deploy technological solutions to support bus captains during route diversions. For example, SBST has deployed a mobile navigation app to support bus captains who are driving less familiar routes, such as when they are involved in bridging bus operations during a rail disruption.