SINGAPORE - Two new cartoon commuters have hopped on the thoughtful bandwagon to encourage passengers to make public transport more pleasant.

Bag-Down Benny and Hush-Hush Hannah made their first appearance on stickers and posters at Dhoby Ghaut MRT station on Tuesday, alongside Move-in Martin, Stand-up Stacey and Give-way Glenda.

The two new cartoon characters were picked from more than 800 entries received by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in its Facebook design contest, which ran in June and July.

The contest was part of LTA's six-month-long graciousness campaign, which is held every year.

Winner Lee Wei Seng, 52, created Bag-Down Benny with his 17-year-old daughter. He sometimes takes the train to and from work. "If we have larger bags, we should place them on the ground so we don't block other people's way," said the purchasing manager.

Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport Josephine Teo attended the awards ceremony, which opened with a song-and-dance number by students from South View Primary School.

Rindiani Aurilia was one of three students dressed up as Stand-up Stacey. "If we are not gracious, other people will feel hurt," said the 10-year-old.

Awards were also given to winners of the student character design contest, which saw 51 schools putting in more than 6,500 entries, a 45 per cent increase from last year.