Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Protocols for Bus Captains on Smooth Braking and Moving Off When Passengers, Especially Elderly and Pregnant, Are Standing and Moving On Buses

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Acting Minister for Transport 

a.     whether the Government has set down procedures to guide bus captains on smooth braking at stops when passengers are standing or moving towards the exit;

b.     if yes, what are they; and

c.     whether protocols require bus captains to wait for passengers, especially elderly and pregnant, who stand and move only after a complete stop, before driving off.

Reply by Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow: 

1.     Bus captains are trained and required to provide safe and smooth journeys. This includes avoiding harsh braking or acceleration. Bus operators have also equipped their vehicles with telematics systems to allow them to monitor and incentivise bus captains with good driving behaviour, and provide support to bus captains who require additional training.

2.     As a safety protocol, bus captains are required to look out and wait for vulnerable passengers, such as the elderly and pregnant, to be seated or to hold on firmly to a handrail, before driving off.

3.     However, bus captains need to also respond to road conditions, including the behaviours of other drivers. In some cases, bus captains have to step on the brakes to prevent road accidents. As they must focus on driving while the bus is moving, it is not always possible for them to spot passengers who stand up and move about between or before stops. We therefore urge all passengers, especially vulnerable passengers, to remain seated and refrain from moving about the bus until it comes to a stop.