5 deaths on buses in 10 years, 4 elderly fatalities

Five passengers died in separate incidents while taking public buses over the past decade, four of whom were elderly commuters who had fallen on board the vehicle, said Minister of State for Transport Murali Pillai.

He was speaking in Parliament on April 8, about a month after an 80-year-old man died after he lost his balance and fell inside an SBS Transit bus on the evening of March 12. The man had stood up from his seat to alight when he fell before he could grab a pole.

"While we have unfortunately seen a few passenger fatalities in recent years, our broader accident patterns have remained… quite stable," Mr Murali told the House.

Every day, four million trips are made on Singapore's public buses, "and almost all of these trips are completed safely", he said.

Mr Murali was responding to a question from MP Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC), who had asked about bus passenger fatalities in the past 10 years, and what measures are being considered to ensure the safety of elderly people on public buses.

Mr Murali said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) works closely with the four public bus operators - SBS Transit, SMRT Buses, Tower Transit Singapore and Go-Ahead Singapore - to maintain and improve bus safety.

Public buses here are equipped with features such as dedicated priority seats, non-slip flooring materials, bus kneeling function at bus stops, and grab bars at exit doors to facilitate boarding and alighting, Mr Murali noted.

The bus kneeling function uses an air or hydraulic system to lower the vehicle body, typically on the side where the doors are located. This makes it easier for passengers, especially those with mobility issues, to board and alight.

Bus drivers are also taught to ensure that elderly passengers are seated before moving off, and to avoid harsh acceleration, braking and jerky movements, Mr Murali said.

LTA and the public bus operators have held public education campaigns to promote commuting habits such as holding on to handrails or grab poles when standing or using the stairs, and to encourage passengers to look out for the more vulnerable among them, such as the elderly.

There were 185 serious collisions involving public buses in 2024, compared with 200 in 2023, and 191 in 2022, according to the March 5 report of a task force formed to scrutinise the safety of public buses here.

The Government has accepted the task force's recommendations to improve the safety of passengers on board buses, Mr Murali said.

These recommendations include announcements on public buses to alert passengers that the bus is moving off, and the modification of public buses to reduce sharp acceleration that could cause those on board to lose their balance.

The task force also recommended equipping the public bus fleet with more safety technology to alert drivers to potential safety risks, such as a 360-degree collision warning system with artificial intelligence (AI) that will eliminate the blind spots of the camera system that is currently used.

Mr Saktiandi suggested the installation of more priority seats and guardrails within buses, saying: "As (our) society ages, I think we'll have a lot more of our seniors who are above 80, and maybe even 90 or 100, taking buses if they are physically fit."

He also asked whether the death of the 80-year-old passenger would expedite the planned roll-out of the task force's recommendations.

In reply, Mr Murali said the Transport Ministry is working with the public bus operators to roll out the recommendations of the task force progressively from the second half of 2025. More details will be given later, he added.