Number of Bidders for School Bus Service Contracts for SPED Schools
Ministry of EducationSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the contract awarding process for Special Education (SPED) school bus services, with Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin inquiring about bidder participation and mechanisms for ensuring competition. Minister for National Development Desmond Lee explained that Social Service Agencies (SSAs) manage their own competitive bidding based on fare competitiveness, capacity, and students’ specific needs. He noted that the Ministry of Education (MOE) does not oversee individual SSA tender processes or track the specific number of bids submitted. To support these schools, MOE extended its Public School Bus Advertisement website portal to SSAs in 2024 to facilitate access to a broader pool of operators. The government continues to encourage the use of this portal, which has already helped several SPED schools receive multiple bids for their contracts.
Transcript
74 Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin asked the Minister for Education with regard to the contract awarding process for school bus services for Special Education (SPED) schools (a) over the past two years, on average, how many bus operators participate in each bidding exercise; and (b) what are the mechanisms in place to ensure sufficient number of unique bidders.
Mr Desmond Lee: This response addresses Oral Question No 74 and the related written question filed by Ms Gho Sze Kee for the subsequent Sitting regarding the contract awarding process for school bus services for Special Education (SPED) schools [Please refer to "Bus Services Fare Hike at Pathlight School and Analysis of Participants in Tender Exercise", Official Report, 4 February 2026, Vol 96, Issue 16, Written Answers to Questions section.].
Social Service Agencies (SSAs) that operate SPED schools conduct their own competitive bidding exercises. They select operators based on factors including fare competitiveness, fleet capacity, ability to meet SPED students' complex transportation needs and geographical coverage.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) does not oversee individual SSA tender processes, stipulate bidding mechanisms or track the number of bids submitted to the SSAs. However, to support the SPED schools and to enable broader market access, MOE has extended its Public School Bus Advertisement website portal to SSAs/SPED schools since 2024, enabling them to invite bids from a wider pool of school bus operators in Singapore during tender exercises. SSAs/SPED schools that used the portal received several bids for their school bus contracts, and we will continue to encourage more SSAs or schools to use it.