What do our youths think about showing care for commuters while on public transport?

On 26 September 2020, representatives from the National University of Singapore Students’ Union (NUSSU) attended a dialogue session with the Caring SG Commuters Committee to share about the Union’s collaboration with Caring SG Commuters Committee in distributing 1,000 bottles of hand sanitisers to vulnerable commuters and to speak about caring commuting behaviours in youths.

When asked about youths contributing to a caring commuting culture in Singapore, the representatives agreed that while it is not the goal of a caring society to do acts of graciousness for everyone to see, some inspiration may go a long way to foster a culture of care in our public transport system.

One of the representatives mentioned that youths in Singapore do have the desire to help, but many are unsure of how to help.

For example, the proper way to approach and guide the visually impaired. Perhaps being inspired and regular reinforcement through visual cues on public transport or social media will motivate the youths to develop the care commuter practices we hope to see.

One key takeaway from the event was the caring commuting behaviours that the Caring SG Commuters Committee has learnt from their engagements with commuters. While certain behaviours were ranked higher or lower because of convenience, it is important that everyone works together to create a positive commuting environment for everyone.

NUSSU and the Caring SG Commuters Committee's collaboration was extremely meaningful as Union members can use our capacity as student leaders to impact those around us in our community, such as social service agencies, frontline workers and general commuters in Singapore.

Written by Tay Wei David, Faculty of Science

General Secretary, 42nd Executive Committee 

National University of Singapore Students' Union (NUSSU) Council