SINGAPORE - Bus operator SBS Transit has increased the monthly starting pay for bus captains to $1,950, an increase of more than 9 per cent from the current $1,775.

The revised salary package for new Singaporean and permanent resident bus captains will benefit almost 10,000 SBS Transit staff, including 6,500 bus captains.

Including overtime, salary adjustments and a reliability incentive of up to $300 monthly under the Bus Service Reliability Framework, new bus captains will be able to earn up to $3,460 monthly.

They will also receive a sign-on bonus of $3,000.

Said National Transport Workers' Union executive secretary Melvin Yong: "As our biggest local public bus operator, SBS Transit sets a good example in the fast growing industry."

SBS Transit chief executive officer Gan Juay Kiat, said that with the new package, "we hope to attract more Singaporeans and Singapore permanent residents to join us as bus captains and strengthen our Singaporean core".

Last month Tower Transit, the third bus operator here, announced a pay raise of 3.5 per cent for its staff, bringing the starting pay of its bus captains to $1,930 monthly.