Speech by Acting Minister for Transport, Mr Chee Hong Tat at SBS Transit 50th Anniversary Dinner

Mr Mark Christopher Greaves, Chairman, ComfortDelGro
Mr Bob Tan, Chairman, SBS Transit
Your Excellency Ms Minh-di Tang, Ambassador of France to Singapore,
Mr Melvin Yong, Executive Secretary, NTWU
Colleagues from MOT, LTA and PTC
Ladies and gentlemen,

1.     Good evening. I am happy to join you tonight to celebrate SBS Transit’s Golden Jubilee.

Looking Back: A Tribute to SBS Transit’s Successes 

2.     Over the past five decades, SBS Transit has grown along with our public transport system, and built up a strong reputation for providing safe, reliable and inclusive public transport services.  

3.     From a pioneer of our bus industry to a multi-modal operator today, SBS Transit achieved many “firsts” in our public transport system.

4.     SBS Transit was the first to transition to a One-Man-Operation system for public buses in 1975, replacing the need for a bus conductor to collect fares and issue tickets. 

5.     From the 1980s through to the 2010s, SBS Transit drove the modernisation of our public bus fleet, being the first to operate:

a.     Double-decker buses in 1979; 

b.     Air-conditioned buses in 1984; 

c.     Wheelchair-accessible buses in 2006; and 

d.     Diesel-electric hybrid buses in 2010.

6.     SBS Transit was also at the forefront of using IT for bus planning and to provide passenger information:

a.     You introduced HASTUS in 1984, the first computerised bus and crew scheduling system in Singapore; and

b.     In 2007, you rolled out IRIS, the Intelligent Route Information System, a real-time bus arrival information system which was not only the first in Singapore, but in the world.

7.     When you ventured into the rail business, you achieved another world’s first. When it was launched in 2003, the North East Line was the world’s first fully automated underground heavy rail line. The North East Line was also our first MRT line built with accessibility features in mind, with the most number of lifts at the time and the first to include a tactile guidance system for visually-impaired commuters.

Looking Ahead: Partnering SBS Transit in New Ways

8.     These achievements can be a great source of pride for SBS Transit. But on this momentous occasion, I am especially glad to see that SBS Transit is taking the opportunity not just to look back, but also to look forward – to lay the foundations for another five decades of innovation and growth.

9.     The MOUs that you will be embarking on today are a reflection of SBS Transit’s commitment to our local public transport ecosystem. They will help SBS Transit to continue playing a crucial role in making our public transport system more future-ready, and more accessible to commuters with different needs. 

10.    Your MOU with Enterprise Singapore will establish the SBS Transit Mobility Innovation Centre, or MINNOVA.  

a.     MINNOVA aims to help our local transport sector seize emerging opportunities and address future mobility challenges.

b.     It will bring together stakeholders from across the transport industry and community, through design challenges and workshops on how we can promote smarter, greener and more accessible mobility. 

c.     I look forward to the new ideas and innovations from MINNOVA.

11.    Your MOUs with SG Enable and Singapore Land Authority (SLA) will also help shape a more inclusive public transport culture.

12.    Besides offering SBS Transit’s marketing platforms to amplify disability inclusion campaigns led by SG Enable, SBS Transit will also work with SG Enable to develop inclusive hiring and training programmes for the public transport industry. In addition, to make your network more accessible to commuters of different needs, you will also be co-creating innovative solutions enabled by assistive technologies and service improvements.

13.    SBS Transit and your partners will also be able to tap on SLA’s geospatial solutions to make our public transport systems more inclusive, including expanding barrier-free routes around the public transport nodes operated by SBS Transit. 

Staying Mission-focused: Delivering Safe and Reliable Services

14.    Amidst the push for innovation, I encourage SBS Transit to further strengthen your core business, to provide safe, reliable and cost-efficient public transport services. 

15.    As our bus and rail assets age, the intensity and complexity of maintenance and renewal works will increase. Yet all of these works must still be accommodated within the same number of engineering hours every night.

16.    When you hosted me recently at the Downtown Line during engineering hours, I saw first-hand how your engineers and technicians are making the best use of precious time. One example was the multi-function track trolley (MFTT) used to detect physical defects such as cracks in railway tracks and water seepages in the tunnel. It replaced manual inspections and measurements, increasing efficiency of the maintenance checks.  

Nurturing a Skilled and Motivated Workforce

17.    Such innovations free up workers to carry out more challenging tasks that require deeper skills and experience. As our transport system becomes increasingly sophisticated, it must be supported by a more highly-skilled and motivated workforce. 

18.    Fortunately, many in the SBS Transit team are long-serving staff who have dedicated their career to learning, un-learning and re-learning ways of doing things to keep up with times. 

19.    One of them is Mr Govindaraju Sundaravadivelu, or Govin, who started as a bus technician some 20 years ago and is now a Master Technical Specialist. Govin has proactively kept up with the latest trends, equipping himself with the knowledge and skills to maintain electric buses, and has been passing on his skills and experience to new technicians. Deservedly, Govin was awarded the SkillsFuture Fellowship Award earlier this week in recognition of his expertise, commitment to lifelong learning, and dedication to mentoring others. Congratulations Govin!

20.    Another example is Mr Jumari Bin Najiman, who saw the opportunity to branch out from engineering to an operational role when SBS Transit won the tender for the Downtown Line. Because the company believed in his abilities to learn on the job, he transitioned to rail traffic operations as a chief controller. Today, Mr Jumari is Head of Downtown Line Traffic and Deputy Head of Customer Experience & Operations.

21.    Finally, we have veterans like Mdm Iris Toh, who has spent 30 years with SBS Transit but still comes to work eager to learn. In her time with SBS Transit, Iris had gone from using typewriters to computers, and had served at different bus depots. Thanks to colleagues and a positive environment, she has always been able to make a strong contribution to the team.

22.    We know that work in our sector is not easy – shift work is the norm, and many are on duty while their friends and loved ones are asleep. I encourage SBS Transit to build on the strong tripartite partnership we have established over the years to deepen efforts to upgrade your jobs, upskill your staff, and make the public transport sector an attractive one for the next generation. 

Conclusion

23.    On this note, I would like to take the opportunity tonight to thank all the unsung heroes in the SBS Transit family:

a.     From the engineers and technicians who work tirelessly behind the scenes to keep our systems running in tip-top shape every day; 

b.     To the ground staff – Bus Captains, station managers, customer service officers and others at the frontline – who go the extra mile to provide a positive commuting experience for our passengers; 

c.     And the many corporate and support staff who keep the organisation going and enable your frontline colleagues to carry out their duties efficiently.

24.    It is also heartening to see SBS Transit give back generously to society as part of your Golden Jubilee celebrations, by rallying commuters and members of the public to raise funds for Community Chest and encouraging your employees to volunteer for causes they are passionate about.
  
25.    You are our key partner in building a reliable, sustainable and inclusive public transport system that keeps Singapore moving. I look forward to celebrating many more milestones with SBS Transit, as we work together to shape the future of mobility in Singapore. 

26.    Thank you and have an enjoyable evening!