Course equips students with skills to help commuters with disabilities

Boarding a bus during peak hours for wheelchair users can be tough, but help and guidance from fellow commuters can go a long way.

Tower Transit Singapore's inclusivity officer Kishon Chong would know, as he is a wheelchair user himself. The 29-year-old former chef had a spinal stroke in 2018 which left him paralysed from the waist down.

Now, he conducts courses with the bus operator to help instil confidence in those with disabilities, and to raise awareness among the public on how to improve their experience on public transport.

With a focus on students, the course, held in partnership with SG Enable and the Public Transport Council, aims to equip the public with skills to lend help to vulnerable commuters.

The first session of the Public Bus Inclusivity Course, conducted at the Jurong East Bus Interchange on Saturday, was attended by three Primary 5 pupils and their parents.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Baey Yam Keng was also at the session.

To better understand the challenges faced by people with disabilities, the participants practised boarding a bus while in a wheelchair and were also blindfolded.

"Many people often see wheelchair users like myself but they may not know what they can do to help. Just ask, and that in itself can be enough to make someone's day," said Mr Chong.

He had also conducted a Public Bus Confidence Course on March 25, involving participants from disability support organisation SPD, to help those with mobility challenges regain their confidence when commuting independently.

"People with disabilities are often very self-conscious, some avoiding public transport entirely out of fear or anxiety. I wanted them to know they have the same rights as everyone else," he said.

While Singapore does not have a centralised database on persons with disabilities, the Ministry of Social and Family Development said in 2018 the prevalence rate of those with disabilities is about 2.1 per cent of the student population, 3.4 per cent of the resident population for those aged 18 to 49, and 13.3 per cent of the resident population for those 50 and above. Those with sensory (blindness and deafness) and physical disabilities constitute half of the disability group, it added.

Tower Transit said for future sessions, it will continue working with Rulang Primary School, where pupils at Saturday's event are from, and is also in talks with other schools in the region for future sessions.

Eleven-year-old Reanne Leck, who attended the event with her mother Eleanor Tan, 42, found the session fun and informative.

Ms Tan, a financial planner, felt the course was a good way to get younger children involved.

"One of my colleagues has muscular dystrophy, and she would often share about the challenges that she faces. Going for this course and educating the younger generation is one of the small ways we can help," she said.

Tower Transit is also making plans to launch a student co-host programme targeted at those in secondary schools or older, where students can volunteer their time at Jurong Bus Interchange and offer assistance to those in need.