SBS Transit aims to train 70% of frontline staff to support commuters with disabilities by 2030

SINGAPORE – Public transport operator SBS Transit aims to train up to 70% of its frontline employees to better serve passengers with disabilities by 2030.

Currently, close to 20% of its frontline employees are trained, said Jeffrey Sim, its group chief executive. As at end-September, the operator had close to 6,500 frontline employees.

The target is part of a new partnership between SBS Transit and disability agency SG Enable to make public transport more inclusive for persons with disabilities, including those with less visible conditions.

The two organisations signed an agreement on Oct 29 at Taman Jurong Community Club, witnessed by Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower Shawn Huang.

Besides improving the commuting experience, the partnership aims to increase the number of employees with disabilities across SBS Transit and its network of service providers to 300 by 2030, up from about 50 currently.

These employees work in roles including station guides, customer service agents, IT specialists, human resource officers and technicians.

SBS Transit said it will explore more opportunities in areas such as logistics, service control and other support roles, including by redesigning jobs, making workplace accommodations and providing support from job coaches.

To better equip staff to support commuters with disabilities, the operator will introduce more hands-on learning.

This will include workshops tailored to the public transport sector and programmes at SBS Transit’s Public Transport Inclusivity Training Centre, which opened in April at Seletar Bus Depot.

SG Enable and SBS Transit will also expand the Enabling Pathway Programme, which helps students with disabilities gain work experience and prepare for employment.

Launched in September 2024 for students from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), the programme will be extended to polytechnic and university students.

Among those who have benefited is Mohammad Umran Mohammad Zakirom, 20, who joined SBS Transit as an intern under the programme in 2024.

He is now a full-time technician at Sengkang Depot while pursuing a work-study diploma in land transport engineering (rail).

Umran works in the automatic fare collection department, which handles equipment such as fare gates and top-up machines at MRT stations.

His team has adapted his duties to suit his strengths. Instead of handling heavy equipment, he helps coordinate repairs of faulty components and monitors when they can be returned to service.

He said his colleagues are supportive when he faces difficulties, and they share duties according to each person’s strengths.

His advice to other students with disabilities entering the workforce is not to lose hope.

“There will always be someone who wants to know what you can do and know your strengths. And they will always give you a chance,” he said.

Sim said Umran’s progress shows how workplaces can bring out a person’s potential when they are willing to adapt.

SBS Transit will tap its network of service providers through its Queen Bee programme to encourage more companies to adopt inclusive hiring practices and provide better workplace support, it said in a statement with SG Enable.

The partnership also aims to help persons with disabilities travel more independently.

SG Enable’s Enabling Services Hubs, which provide community-based support for persons with disabilities and their caregivers, will introduce SBS Transit’s Travel Buddy Programme to those who need help using public transport.

The programme offers route familiarisation and practical guidance to help persons with disabilities navigate buses and trains more safely and confidently, the organisations said.