Bus driver lauded for helping senior who fell after alighting from vehicle

SBS Transit bus driver Tan Wei Fu was pulling out of a bus stop in Holland Drive on Jan 15 when he heard a sound that made him stop.

An elderly passenger, who had alighted from the front door of his Service 48 bus, had fallen backwards after stepping onto the kerb.

Witnesses saw her hit the bus as she fell, and somehow, her hair got caught in the front left wheel of the bus. Mr Tan, 26, immediately rushed down from the bus.

With a pair of scissors he borrowed from people at a nearby community centre, he freed the passenger.

She suffered minor abrasions on her head and arm.

Yesterday, Mr Tan was among 82 transport workers and six transport operators to receive awards at the Public Transport Safety and Security Awards Day event.

Some of the recipients were lauded for their bravery and swift thinking, while others had created a safer workplace with innovative solutions, as well as held stellar safety records.

Mr Tan, who has been with SBS Transit for five years, said the award motivates him to do better. "I want to improve and be even more alert and patient when seniors board the bus."

In his speech at the event at the NTUC Centre, Senior Minister of State for Transport and Finance Chee Hong Tat, who was the guest of honour, said safety should never be compromised.

To reinforce the message, Mr Chee said bus drivers will have to undergo a one-day course, which includes simulator training and defensive driving, as part of the Singapore Bus Academy's refresher training programme. They will attend the course, which will be launched later this month, over the next three years.

Yesterday, awards were also given to SMRT Buses chief bus captain Peter Kwek, 49, who mentors younger colleagues, and SMRT Buses senior supervisor Low Lee Chua, 61. The pair dealt with an electrical fire at Ang Mo Kio Bus Depot on Jan 6.