SINGAPORE - He was a champion of commuters' interests and now an award – to recognise public transport users who have demonstrated care to others on their daily commute – has been renamed the Richard Magnus Award for the Outstanding Caring Commuter.

This is to honour Mr Magnus, the late Public Transport Council (PTC) and Caring SG Commuters Committee chairman, Minister for Transport S. Iswaran announced on Thursday (June 16).

The renaming of the Outstanding Caring Commuter Award recognises Mr Magnus' contributions to the building of the Caring SG Commuters movement.

Speaking at a Caring SG Commuters event at the Enabling Village in Bukit Merah on Thursday, Mr Iswaran said inclusiveness is at the heart of a good public transport system.

"No matter their backgrounds, ages and abilities, commuters must enjoy a seamless and comfortable trip on our public transport system," he added.

Though many initiatives over the years have been rolled out, such as wheelchair accessibility in buses and a hearing enhancement system at passenger service centres in train and bus interchanges, Mr Iswaran said inclusiveness is not just about infrastructure and assets but also about people.

He added that Mr Magnus, who died of a heart attack on March 14 at 77, was a big champion of inclusivity.

"Mr Richard Magnus was someone who always sought to make our public transport system more inclusive. I had the honour of knowing and working with him over the decades. He was always bringing people together to watch out for one another."

His son, Mr Keith Magnus, told The Straits Times: “We are humbled by the recognition given to our father and so incredibly proud of him. He was a visionary and was always compassionate and fuelled by his love for people. He would stop for even one.”

Mr Magnus was chairman of the PTC from 2014 to 2022, and first chairman of the Caring SG Commuters Committee from 2020 to 2022.

The committee last November launched the Our Caring Commuting Journey report  which suggested improvements to infrastructure and caring behaviours commuters can adopt.

The PTC also launched the Caring Commuter Award in 2019 under his leadership.

Mr Iswaran said: "I hope the award serves as an inspiration for commuters to epitomise Richard's ethos of care and lean forward to help fellow commuters in need – just as our Caring Commuter Award winners have done."

Last year's Outstanding Caring Commuter Award was given to three nurses who saw an elderly man bleeding and lying on the floor of Punggol MRT station while on their way home from work.

The three women attended to his wounds and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation when they realised that he had no pulse. Station staff then took over and the trio left only when an ambulance arrived.

Ms Janet Ang, who has been chairman of the Caring SG Commuters Committee since May, is a Caring Commuter Champion.

To date, more than 1,000 people have signed up as champions who undergo training on how to assist commuters, including the elderly and people with disabilities.

Training is conducted online, either through a virtual session with SG Enable or e-learning modules.