They drive all day and rarely receive thanks, but are the first people commuters scold when things go wrong.

MP Seng Han Thong (Yio Chu Kang), executive secretary of the National Transport Workers' Union, spoke up for them yesterday during the debate on the budget for transport.

He expressed concern that more competition in the transport industry would hurt these workers' interests and welfare. He urged the Government not to award contracts for new bus routes based on price alone.

Such 'cheap sourcing' could drive down wages or lead to bus operators hiring more lowly paid contract or foreign workers, he said.

But Transport Minister Raymond Lim gave another perspective.

He said greater competition meant more jobs and better employment prospects for transport workers. 'The signs point to a larger transport pie over time as more people take public transport and service levels go up,' he said.

The number of public transport trips taken in a day is expected to more than double in the next 12 years, from five million to 12 million.

But Mr Lim was also sympathetic to the plight of bus captains. He urged MPs and members of the public to be mindful that bus captains also faced pressures from the higher cost of living.

Their wages needed to go up from time to time and that was one reason why public transport fares had to be adjusted, he said.

'Let's have a care. The next time we argue, 'let's freeze this, let's not do this', there are implications for others,' he added.

Transport Ministry