Raising school bus fares cannot solve woes in industry

Wheel Insights

Synopsis: Every 3rd Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times examines not just vehicle prices but wider transport issues and trends connected to publ…

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“Money not enough” - not even raising fares can fix current school bus woes.

Synopsis: Every 3rd Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times examines not just vehicle prices but wider transport issues and trends connected to public and private transport.

School bus fares are constantly rising, and yet operators are saying that ferrying pupils to schools is a loss-making venture with little way out. Mr Darry Lim, 44, who grew his father’s bus company from eight to 38 buses, says that the troubles facing the industry are only worsening as a sizeable number of local drivers are leaving the trade every year.

Darry is the director of Hui Leong, a private transport company and serves as the transport officer of the Singapore School Transport Association which represents mainly self-employed school bus drivers.

Highlights (click/tap above):

2:21 More drivers than buses are needed

4:11 Shrinking local driver population also means a cut in foreign drivers because of the allowable foreign worker quota, worsening the situation

7:05 A driver’s typical working day start at 5.30am to pick up the first pupil

15:40 The international school student chips in

19:15 “I might be dead before I can pay off the bus!”

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Host: Lee Nian Tjoe (niantjoel@sph.com.sg)

Produced & edited by: Amirul Karim

Executive producers: Ernest Luis and Lynda Hong