Accidents Involving Public Buses and Probe into Recent Accident at Bukit Batok Bus Interchange

8 Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Transport (a) what is the cause of the accident at the Bukit Batok Bus Interchange on 11 July 2021; (b) what contributing factors had led to one of the buses reportedly falling two metres and onto its side; (c) what is being done to support and help the persons injured; and (d) whether bus interchange designs undergo stress-test evaluation to assess for potential modes of accidents and consequences thereof.

9 Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Minister for Transport (a) how many cases of accidents involving public transport buses have occurred in the last few years and whether such cases have increased; (b) what is the range of causes of such incidents; and (c) what mitigating measures can be taken to minimise these types of incidents happening so as to reduce the risk of injuries and fatalities to commuters and pedestrians.

10 Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye asked the Minister for Transport (a) in the past five years, what is the number of accidents reported within bus interchanges and bus depots; (b) how many of these accidents have been due to speeding or blind spots; and (c) what are the safety measures put in place at bus interchanges and bus depots to prevent accidents.

The Senior Minister of State for Transport (Mr Chee Hong Tat) (for the Minister for Transport): Mr Deputy Speaker, may I have your permission to take Question Nos 8, 9 and 10 together?

Mr Deputy Speaker: Yes, please.

Mr Chee Hong Tat: Thank you, Sir. On 11 July 2021, an accident occurred at the Bukit Batok Bus Interchange when a bus that was making a turn within the interchange hit another bus that had just entered the interchange. Following the incident, a bus captain was placed under arrest by the Traffic Police and has been temporarily suspended from active duty by Tower Transit Singapore. The Traffic Police is investigating the accident. As investigations are ongoing, I would refrain from commenting on the cause and contributing factors for the accident.

SBS Transit and Tower Transit Singapore have been in close contact with the passengers and the two injured bus captains, including rendering help to facilitate their medical and insurance claims. The National Transport Workers Union is also working with operators to provide support for the bus captains.

Sir, safety is a key priority for the Government and public transport operators. Bus interchanges are designed to ensure safe movement of passengers and bus captains. Prior to the commencement of operations, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) conducts analyses and trials to ensure that buses can move around the interchange safely. Buses driving within the interchanges must adhere to a speed limit of 15 kilometres per hour and obey traffic schemes such as the stop lines and the "Slow" markings which are prominently painted on the driveways. Bus parking warning systems are also installed to warn bus captains of reversing buses.

All four bus operators have instituted continual safety training for their bus captains, imposed disciplinary procedures for errant bus captains as well as provide incentives for safe driving. They have also invested in telematics systems on board buses which monitor the driving of bus captains and proactively identifies those who require refresher training.

With these measures, our public bus safety record has improved in recent years and there are relatively few accidents. The number of accidents involving public buses, not just in bus interchanges but across different settings, has been falling steadily. There were 148 of such accidents between January and May 2021, as compared to 270 in the same period in 2017. The average yearly accident rate for our public buses has been on a downward trend over the last few years, from about 0.15 cases per 100,000 bus-kilometre travelled in 2017, to about 0.10 cases per 100,000 bus-kilometre travelled between January and May 2021.

Accidents that occur are often attributed to human factors, such as failing to keep a proper lookout or give way to traffic with right of way. The public bus operators and LTA have put in place a process to collate and share learning points from accidents and also near-misses to raise awareness among bus captains and reduce the risk of future accidents.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Dr Tan Wu Meng.

Dr Tan Wu Meng (Jurong): I thank the Senior Minister of State for his answer. A number of Clementi residents with family who transit through or go through that interchange have expressed concern about what happened. I understand the investigations are still ongoing, but if I may raise three supplementary questions more generally.

Can the Ministry share if the agencies have kept track of the number of accidents at this particular interchange over the past few years? Secondly, how many near misses have been reported at this interchange over the past few years. And thirdly, with regard to human factors, has it been studied whether a driver towards the end of the shift, may be more likely to be in an accident and what measures are there to better support our brothers and sisters in the transport sector who may be facing fatigue or challenging circumstances at work?

Mr Chee Hong Tat: Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank Dr Tan for his three supplementary questions. I share the concerns that his residents expressed about safety. As I mentioned earlier, safety is a priority for LTA and also for our public transport operators. We will continue to watch this carefully, not just safety within the bus interchanges, but also safety on the roads too.

Sir, the accidents and data for near misses for Bukit Batok Interchange is not too different from what is in the general situation that I reported earlier, in terms of the accident rate and also the number of accidents that happen within bus interchanges and also across different settings.

There is this very unfortunate accident that happened in July, as I mentioned earlier, investigations are ongoing, so I do not want to go into the details of the causes and also, the accountability of different parties. I think we let the investigation take its natural course. But what is important to remember is that the public transport operators, all four of them, have a process of collating and sharing information about accidents and near misses so that we learn. After every accident or every near miss, there is a learning process to see how we can further reduce the risk of future accidents.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Mr Murali Pillai.

Mr Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I thank the hon Senior Minister of State for his comprehensive response and I also want to record my thanks to the hon Member Dr Tan Wu Meng for raising this question because the Bukit Batok Bus Interchange lies within the constituency where I serve.

Sir, the accident has caused serious concerns among some of my residents, particularly the aspect, where the bus fell two metres onto its side. I recognise that the Interchange itself was built in around 1987. I wonder whether LTA is minded to look into the design, having regard to the fact that buses have become bigger. Also, there may be a need to provide for sufficient safety margins and also extra safety measures to ensure that should something untoward happen, at least there are some structures in place to make sure that the pedestrians', commuters' lives and of course, that of our bus captains', would also not be impacted.

Mr Chee Hong Tat: Sir, I thank the Member for his supplementary questions. Again, I want to stress that the importance of safety is something that both LTA and the public transport operators, we take very seriously. And not only do we look at how we can learn from every accident or every near miss and how we can then improve both in terms of the infrastructure, but also in terms of the safety procedures and the awareness of bus captains to pay attention to safety.

Sir, I want to assure the Member and his residents that all bus interchanges – and this includes Bukit Batok Bus Interchange – have safety features in place that meet prevailing safety standards. Notwithstanding the presence of these safety features, safe driving is ultimately the most important. Because no matter how much infrastructure we put in, if it is due to human error, the infrastructure cannot completely take that away. So, safe driving, at the end of the day, I think it is still the most crucial and this is what will help to reduce the risk of accidents.

So, I mentioned earlier in my main reply, how we have built in some of these safety features into the design of the buses, to also monitor using telematics systems the driving behaviours of individual bus captains and then to pick up those that may require further refresher training. There is also constant sharing to reinforce the importance of safety. Through this whole process in obeying speed limits, obeying, traffic schemes, both within the bus interchanges and also outside on the roads, this is what will allow us to continue to improve safety records of our public transport system.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Mr Saktiandi Supaat.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank the Senior Minister of State for answering some of the questions in my Parliamentary Question (PQ). I have two supplementary questions.

The first is in relation to the types of cases. The Senior Minister of State mentioned that the number of cases has been falling and also that 0.15 cases per 100 kilometres have dropped to about 0.1 number of cases in 2021. But, to me and to many residents, every single bus accident, not just in the interchange but outside, is one too many as it involves a heavy vehicle. So, for the 148 cases, what types of cases are those? Do they involve pedestrians, cyclists or motorists?

The second supplementary question is: how much can we enhance in terms of education of our pedestrians and other commuters, especially either in the interchange or outside the interchange scenario, to understand and be aware about public buses and safety when they are commuting and going around?

Mr Chee Hong Tat: Mr Deputy Speaker, Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked about the types of cases that I reported earlier: 148 so far between January and May 2021, they are different types of accidents. Some involving pedestrians, some involving cyclists, some involving motorists. I think what happened in Bukit Batok is within the interchange and it is actually between two buses.

But Mr Saktiandi Supaat is right. Safety is not just safety within interchanges; safety is also safety in different settings, including on the roads. So, this is why, in my main reply, I emphasised that safety, both within interchanges and in different settings, is a priority. And this is something which we must continue to pay careful attention to, continue to look for ways in which we can do better both in terms of the infrastructure but also, importantly, the behaviours and safety consciousness of users – from bus captains to motorists, to cyclists to pedestrians. So, it is an ongoing effort and I would like to call upon all stakeholders to please continue to work with us because, ultimately, safety is a collective responsibility.