Radin Mas SMC MP Melvin Yong spoke during the Committee of Supply debate for the Ministry of Transport yesterday (8 March).
Addressing the issue of manpower gaps, he suggested that taxi drivers could be trained to drive public buses so that they can be activated in case of a bus driver shortage.
Here is what he shared on Facebook
#TodayInParliament
I spoke at the Committee of Supply debate for the Ministry of Transport, Singapore and highlighted the need to enhance the resilience of our workforce across our air, sea, and land transport sectors.
As air travel picks up, should we start looking at increasing recruitment of aviation workers to prepare for the uptick in air travel demand?
The maritime sector has done well amidst the pandemic, and I believe more can be done to attract Singaporeans into this growth sector.
COVID-19 has also highlighted the vulnerability of our public bus workforce, with our public bus operators having to lengthen bus waiting times due to bus captains getting infected amidst the Omicron wave.
We should build a reserve bus captain pool – one that can be activated upon short notice to fill urgent manpower gaps. Can we train taxi drivers to serve as reserve bus captains? This reserve force could drive buses once a month, to keep their driving skills and route familiarity current, so that they can be activated upon an emergency.
Do you have any other suggestions on how we can enhance the resilience of our transport workforce?
#SGBudget2022