Speech by Ms Sun Xueling, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Transport and Ministry of National Development, at the Public Transport Safety and Security Awards 2025

Sister Yeo Wan Ling, Executive Secretary of the National Transport Workers Union,

Sister Teo Siew Pan, Executive Secretary of the National Taxi Association,

Brother Raven Lee, Executive Secretary of the National Private Hire Vehicles Association,

Mr Ng Lang, Chief Executive of LTA,

Distinguished guests,

A very good morning to all of you.

1.     I am delighted to join the public transport community at this year’s Public Transport Safety and Security Awards or PTSSA ceremony. Today, we come together to honour and celebrate the dedicated efforts of our operators and transport sector brothers and sisters, who continuously strive to improve the safety and security of our workplaces and commuters.

2.     As we gather, let me reaffirm a shared conviction: safety and security are the highest priorities for the public transport sector. We serve millions of commuters a day, with a workforce in the tens of thousands; collectively, we are responsible for the safety and security of many people here in Singapore. 

3.     Our public transport sector has done well –our buses and trains are the safest way to get around, moving many more people with fewer accidents and fatalities than private vehicles. All of you would be familiar with the strong safety protocols we have in place. When we encounter a train fault, our priority is the safety of commuters. We make sure passengers can alight safely. If we must, we will cut power, and deploy our staff to help passengers detrain safely onto the tracks.

4.     Our bus captains too prioritise safety even though they have strict schedules to meet. Especially when there are elderly or vulnerable passengers, bus captains ensure that they are seated before moving off. SMS Murali Pillai and Sister Yeo Wan Ling recently led a tripartite review of our bus safety regime, and tripartite partners are working together to implement more safety measures.

5.     But we must never forget that the risks in our sector are very real. Less than a month ago, a tragic derailment in southwest Germany claimed three lives and injured several others. Earlier this month, three carriages of a Bangkok-bound train came off the tracks and injured several passengers. 

6.     These incidents around the world are a stark reminder that safety and security cannot be taken for granted. We must sustain high standards, day in and day out.

7.     With this in mind, we are introducing a “Challenge Shield” to underscore the importance of continuous effort on safety.

8.     We want to motivate operators to continuously elevate performance standards and set ambitious safety targets. Each year, the Operator Excellence Award winner that best demonstrated a strong commitment to safety in each transport domain will have their name engraved on the Shield. Over a decade, the category leader will earn permanent ownership of the Shield — recognising sustained excellence and continuous improvement.

9.     On that note, let me congratulate Tower Transit Singapore, SMRT Trains and CityCab for winning this year’s Operator Excellence Award under the bus, rail and point-to-point categories.

Transport safety

10.    Initiatives like the Challenge Shield motivate us to raise the bar across all fronts, and workplace safety is one such critical area.

11.    In 2024, Singapore recorded its lowest workplace major injury rate of 15.9 per 100,000 workers, improving from 16.1 in 2023. However, fatal injuries increased from 36 in 2023 to 43 in 2024. Each fatality underscores the need for constant vigilance and the absolute imperative of prioritising workplace safety.

12.    This starts with a strong sense of safety awareness. I therefore want to commend a team of three from GoAhead Singapore, led by Ms Clarissa Koh, who produced a series of videos for bus captains to promote safe driving habits and raise awareness of safety issues. These videos are now being broadcast in GoAhead Singapore’s depots, bus interchange captain lounges and during safety briefings, as regular reminders on the importance of safety. 

13.    While we strengthen workplace safety, our responsibility extends beyond depots and stations. Commuter safety is also of paramount importance to the public transport sector. As our rail and bus network grows, our responsibility for commuter safety will also become greater.

14.    Individual transport workers can do a lot to safeguard commuter safety.  SMRT’s Train Captain Mr Chin Wing Sheng, who spotted a sagging third rail expansion joint and a potentially damaged rail clamp on the East-West Line last year, quickly reported the defects. His timely intervention helped prevent a serious incident and protected passengers. Thank you, Mr Chin Wing Sheng!

15.    While the number of serious collision accidents involving public buses has remained stable, we are continuing to pay close attention to bus safety. I mentioned earlier about the recent tripartite review of bus safety – the Bus Safety Tripartite Taskforce. Many of you would have given your views to SMS Murali, Sister Yeo Wan Ling and his fellow taskforce members, and the Taskforce made close to 20 recommendations earlier this year in response to feedback. These recommendations aim to give our bus captains the best support to do their job well, by equipping them with the right tools and providing them a conducive working environment. One recommendation is to conduct Bus Safety Roadshows to share safety tips with commuters, as well as other road users riding and driving around public buses. The inaugural roadshow will be held at Toa Payoh HDB Hub this weekend. 

16.    One other group I would like to acknowledge are the Safety Champions in our midst, who mentor their fellow colleagues on the importance of workplace safety and security, and encourage them to report near-misses and safety or security concerns. They are an important bridge between their front-line colleagues and the safety departments within their organisations. Our Safety Champions come from all different roles, including bus captains, technicians and engineers. From 2025, the initiative will be extended to include point-to-point operators and drivers.

17.    I strongly encourage more transport workers and union representatives to step up as Safety Champions, ensuring safety remains integral to our operations. Your leadership makes a tangible difference.

Transport Security

18.    Beyond workplace and commuter safety, we must also remain vigilant against increasing security threats—both physical and cyber. Leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence in transport security not only enhances monitoring, but also enables our security officers to respond efficiently to incidents by providing them with critical information and alerts.

19.    In this regard, let me commend the efforts by a team of two—Mr Jackson Ang and Mr Yeremia Jason Donavan—from SBST Rail. Their pilot project uses a multirole robot to conduct security surveillance, safety monitoring and cleaning at Little India and Punggol Coast stations. The robot uses video analytics coupled with machine learning capability to identify unattended bags more accurately and quickly, serving as another ‘pair of eyes’ on the ground. This increases the coverage of monitored areas, especially at crowded stations. This exemplifies how robotics and artificial intelligence can be utilised in security operations. 

Conclusion

20.    To round off, let me express my most sincere appreciation to our operators, frontline workers, union leaders, industry partners and regulators for your vigilance, commitment and contributions towards keeping our public transport system safe and secure. 

21.    Congratulations once again to all award recipients. To further honour our awardees’ efforts, we have launched a dedicated PTSSA website to chronicle the award winners across the years. I hope this will serve as inspiration for others to be part of our safety and security movement.

22.    Let us continue to work closely together to sustain and strengthen our tripartite partnership, maintaining open dialogue and welcoming feedback from all stakeholders, as we strive to elevate safety and security standards in our public transport system. Thank you.