No drivers, so SBS Transit turns to China
By Mindy Tan
March 11, 2008
FEWER Singaporeans and Malaysians want to drive public buses.
So SBS Transit has hired its first batch of 20 drivers from
China.
The company confirmed that the new bus captains have been
sourced from its subsidiary bus company in China, and it is in the
process of bringing them in.
It also said that a two-year attachment has been worked out for
these drivers.
The New Paper checked with the company after reader Paul Antony
Fernandez, a security project officer, 42, called us on hearing of
the employment of the Chinese drivers.
He asked: 'Isn't this a total contradiction to our Government
policy of providing our people with employment and bringing down
the unemployment rate?'
In an e-mail reply to The New Paper, Ms Tammy Tan, SBS Transit's
corporate communications director, said that over the years, the
company has found it increasingly difficult to get people to join
the profession.
It does not help that the demand for bus captains is growing as
more bus services are rolled out.
Even the SBS Transit New Bus Captain Scheme, launched in 2005,
has lost its shine.
That year, enhanced salary structures drove a bus driver's basic
entry salary up from $936 to $1,200 per month for Singaporeans.
Bus drivers also became known as bus captains, providing an
essential service.
SBS Transit then announced that it received three times more job
applications from Singaporeans in the first month of the scheme's
inception, three times more than the previous average of 60
applications a month.
But now, it seems that foreign workers from China may be the way
to go.
Ms Tan said: 'Thanks to a recent relaxation by the Ministry of
Manpower on non-traditional sources of manpower, we are now looking
at supplementing our current bus captain pool with those from
China.'
Are Singaporeans apprehensive about driving public buses? Or is
a foreigner's willingness to accept lower wages the reason for the
switch?
SBS Transit now has 5,200 bus captains under its wing - 75 per
cent of whom are Singaporeans or permanent residents.
Malaysian drivers make up the remaining 25 per cent. Bus
captains earn between $1,600 and $3,500 a month.
The average gross for most is about $2,300 a month, excluding an
annual wage supplement and bonuses.
The company said that the new Chinese bus captains' salaries
have not been decided.
'We are still in the process of negotiating the terms,' Ms Tan
said.
Mr Fernandez feels that SBS Transit has found the easy way
out.
The concerned commuter spoke to more than 10 bus captains during
his frequent rides, and concluded that better work welfare can
solve the employment problem.
Mr Fernandez said: 'Upon hearing their woes, I feel the turnover
rate can be reduced and good employers retained if better work
welfare is provided.'
SBS bus captains work six days a week. On average, they clock
nine hours a day.
Ms Tan said that 12 per cent of a work day is spent on breaks in
between trips.
But traffic congestion often deprives drivers of that rest
period.
Mr Fernandez said: 'Bus captains have told me that when they are
held up by bad traffic, they return back to base later than
scheduled and their rest times are shortened.
'While at the Toa Payoh bus interchange, I saw a bus captain
drive Service 143 into the bus bay, run to the toilet, clocked in
and out, and in less than five minutes, he was back in the driver's
seat preparing for the next trip.
'When I boarded the bus, I asked him why he did not take a drink
or a meal.
'He replied, 'No choice, due to adverse traffic
conditions'.'
Bus captains have to begin their next trip fairly quickly to
minimise further inconvenience caused to commuters waiting at the
bus stops.
BAD TRAFFIC SHORTENS BREAKS
SBS Transit acknowledged this problem.
Ms Tan said: 'In cases of extreme traffic congestion, where
buses are caught in a bad jam, bus captains do return to the
interchanges very late, thus affecting their trip schedule.'
She added: 'This is one of the many challenges that we deal with
in our bus operations and we appreciate the dedication of our bus
captains.'
SBS Transit said that the Chinese New Year celebrations at
Chinatown last month caused a traffic build-up, from Eu Tong Sen
Street tailing to North Bridge Road on some days.
Buses arrived at the interchanges late, some by as much as 45
minutes, it said.
Mr Fernandez's parting shot: 'Bus captains are also ordinary
human beings like all of us, who need ample rest to recharge and be
alert and stay healthy while on the road.
'Please look into this management area first, before looking for
other solutions.'
