As announced at the Committee of Supply last year, the Caring SG Commuters Committee was set up in January 2020 to partner commuters and the community in a joint effort to transform Singapore’s public transport system into one that is more caring and inclusive.

2          To grow this movement further, the committee continues to work on three main areas: informing, involving and inspiring.

• Informing. The committee engaged more than 2,000 commuters over more than 30 focus group discussions and surveys. Those engaged included targeted groups such as the visually impaired, caregivers of commuters with dementia, senior citizens and young adults. The committee will continue to share the challenges faced by these commuters, to foster deeper understanding of their challenges and what the commuting public can do to help them.
• Involving. The committee aims to involve more commuters, public transport operators and community partners to co-create solutions on how to entrench a more inclusive and caring commuting culture.
• Inspiring. The committee wants to inspire commuters to be “Caring Commuter Champions”, who will be trained by SG Enable to assist vulnerable commuters on their daily commutes.

Card and Lanyard Identifier for Commuters Who Require Assistance

3          In end-April 2021, the committee will introduce a card and lanyard identifier for commuters who may require a seat due to long-term medical conditions that prevent them from standing for prolonged periods. This initiative follows positive feedback through surveys and engagement with commuters from LTA’s pilot of a special sticker for public transport commuters with invisible medical conditions, as well as Go-Ahead Singapore’s trial of the Helping Hand initiative. Go-Ahead Singapore plans to progressively expand the Helping Hands trial to other services.

4          The lanyards will progressively be made available at all MRT stations, Bus Interchanges and TransitLink Ticket Offices to those with long-term medical conditions. Commuters who require the sticker temporarily may also request for them.

5          The lanyard, designed by commuters with disabilities / special needs through an art competition, aims to empower them to share their travel experiences through their artwork. The public may view the submissions on the Caring SG Commuters Facebook page, and selected artworks will be used in the final lanyard design jointly created by LTA and a youth group, the Movement of Inclusivity.

6          To find out more about ongoing initiatives, commuters may also visit the Caring SG Commuters Portal, which is part of the committee’s efforts to engage the public, involve commuters in co-creation and reach out to potential Caring Commuter Champions to build a more caring commuting culture. For more details on committee’s past and ongoing initiatives, please refer to the Annex.