Bus drivers trained to help commuters with disabilities: Baey

Commuters with special needs and caregivers who need help on public buses should approach the drivers, said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Baey Yam Keng yesterday.

More than 6,300 bus drivers in the public transport sector are trained to identify and help any commuter with special needs, said Mr Baey, adding that passengers could also alert other commuters if they need help.

He was responding in Parliament to questions from Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC), who spoke about a resident with a child with special needs who had trouble boarding a public bus.

The bus driver did not extend any help as the child was in a stroller and not a wheelchair, Mr Saktiandi, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, told the House. He asked whether more could be done to deal with such issues.

He later told The Straits Times that the resident had asked the bus driver to lower the wheelchair ramp at the back of the bus to allow her and her child to board. She had all three of her children with her then. He said the driver ignored her request and signalled her to board from the back on her own.

Mr Saktiandi added that the driver then almost shut the doors on her, but another commuter intervened. The bus operator involved is investigating the case.

"I asked the (question) to make sure bus captains are trained. This could be a one-off but it helps to ask to make sure this is a learning point," said Mr Saktiandi.

Responding to his question in Parliament, Mr Baey said that, in general, it may be less evident to the bus driver that a child or a caregiver has needs when a stroller is used.

Some needs are also invisible, which is why the authorities in April last year introduced a card and lanyard for commuters with long-term, invisible medical conditions or disabilities, such as autism. This is to help public transport workers better identify them.

All public transport operators here have training programmes to equip bus captains with skills to communicate with and assist commuters with special needs, he said.

Since November 2016, this has also been a part of the Enhanced Vocational Licence Training Programme that all new bus drivers must attend. More than 6,300 drivers have graduated from it.

Mr Baey said training materials are regularly reviewed based on feedback from commuters with special needs, their caregivers, members of the public and social service agencies.

A successful inclusive commuting culture is not just the responsibility of public transport operators and their workers, he added. "Every commuter can play a part."