Speech by Mr Chee Hong Tat, Acting Minister for Transport, at the Joint 3rd Singapore BusTech Grand Challenge and Inaugural Singapore RailTech Grand Challenge 2023

Sisters and Brothers from NTWU and e2i 
Ladies and gentlemen

1.     Good afternoon. I am happy to join everyone here today at the 3rd Singapore BusTech Grand Challenge and the inaugural Singapore RailTech Grand Challenge.

2.     Two years ago, I launched the inaugural BusTech Grand Challenge. I am very glad that today, we have expanded the Grand Challenge to our rail community. From having 24 participants in the first edition, to now a total of 84 participants across both Grand Challenges, this movement has grown and now covers our entire range of public transport technician workforce.

3.     Our participants have been put to the test today – they have gone through many different tasks such as modifying signalling circuits and working on electric vehicle batteries, vying for a total prize pool of $67,000.

The spirit of the Grand Challenge

4.     The Singapore Bus Academy collaborated with Republic Polytechnic, ITE College West, as well as bus equipment manufacturing companies, to jointly conduct 18 preparatory training sessions for the participants of today’s BusTech Grand Challenge.

5.     Similarly, for the rail challenge, nine teams – each consisting of a mix of current rail technicians and ITE students – have undergone 18 days of training conducted by our rail operators.

a.     This mixed-team arrangement gives our students a first-hand experience in working with experienced technicians on real-world problems.

b.     Importantly, all our participants had the chance to hone their teamwork, which is critical to effective rail operations and maintenance.

6.     For our students, I hope that the Grand Challenge movement has lit a spark in you, and encouraged you to consider taking up transport engineering as a career.

7.     A good example is Mr Tang Jing Herng, who was our Student Champion from last year’s Challenge. He was greatly inspired by the competition, and after graduating from SIT with a degree in Telematics, he joined LTA’s Bus Assets Division to pursue his passion in bus engineering. I hope some of you will follow in Jing Herng’s footsteps!

8.     I am also delighted to see several young ladies participating in the two Grand Challenges. Engineering is not only for men – it is for everyone who has the passion and interest. The bus technician team for Tower Transit’s Bulim workshop is led by a female manager, Ms Violin Naw [pronounced as Noor]. Ms Naw embarked on a three-year dentistry education before making a switch to engineering. After completing her studies, she began her career in public transport as a Quality Assurance Engineer, before joining Tower Transit. She is now an Engineering Manager.

9.     We want to attract more young men and women like Ms Naw to join us in the public transport sector. In conjunction with the Grand Challenges, we are holding a public transport career fair on 29 November 2023 at Devan Nair Institute in Jurong East. There will be many roles in the public transport sector for you to explore, both engineering and non-engineering.

Award of Bus Electrification Tenders and Launch of Contextualised National EV Specialist Safety (NESS-BUS) Programme

10.    Ladies and gentlemen, we need to continually build up and grow the public transport workforce because our system is expanding and undergoing change and renewal.

11.    One major change is the electrification of our bus fleet. This is an important part of our efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Land transport accounts for around 15% of our national carbon emissions, our target is to achieve net zero by 2050. Besides encouraging more commuters to switch to public transport, we also want to make our public transport system greener and more sustainable. LTA’s aim is to electrify 50% of all public buses by 2030.

12.    I am pleased to announce that LTA has just awarded two contracts to procure a total of 360 electric buses, and another two contracts for the deployment of charging systems at our bus depots in East Coast, Gali Batu and Sengkang West. This is the first time we have awarded large-scale tenders for bus electrification, after the previous pilot where LTA bought and tested 60 electric buses. The new electric buses will be progressively deployed from December 2024, and more commuters will get to enjoy cleaner, quieter rides.

13.    We are also stepping up efforts to train our technician workforce to be ready for the transition to electric buses. This transition will be quite challenging as we will have different types of buses at the same time—traditional, diesel hybrid, and electric. The switch will be progressive, and we will gradually switch to cleaner energy buses. This means that we need to make sure that our workforce can also transition during the process. The Singapore Bus Academy will launch a new training programme in December – the National EV Specialist Safety Bus Programme.

14.    The programme consists of four modules that will equip bus technicians to safely handle e-buses and hybrid buses. These include work safety procedures for handling batteries and chargers at high voltage.

15.    Our bus technicians have shown keen interest to be part of this transition, and the first module has already been fully subscribed. I would like to encourage all our technicians to make good use of such training opportunities, to learn new knowledge and upgrade your skills.

Closing Remarks

16.    In conclusion, I hope our Grand Challenge movement will continue to fuel a spirit of learning and improvement among all public transport technicians. Thank you very much to our organising committee, partners and participants for making this year’s BusTech and RailTech Grand Challenge a grand success!

17.    I would also like to say a special word of thanks to all our bus and rail technicians. You are the unsung heroes of our public transport system. Your hard work keeps our buses and trains running smoothly everyday, including weekends and public holidays. Your work may be behind the scenes and away from the limelight, but what you do allows our public transport system to serve millions of commuters every day and enables them to get to their destinations safely and conveniently.

18.    Thank you for helping to build a better, smarter, and greener public transport system for Singapore!