454 transport workers honoured for good service

SINGAPORE — When a tourist realised he was a dollar short for a tourist pass, TransitLink customer service officer Mas Siti Ali paid for the balance out of her own pocket. And when an elderly woman struggled to catch a bus in the rain, SMRT senior bus captain V Ramjee grabbed an umbrella, got off the bus and sheltered her as she got on board.

They were among those who were honoured for exemplary service yesterday at the annual Transport Gold awards, which are jointly organised by the public transport companies and associations, together with the Singapore Kindness Movement, Traffic Police and Land Transport Authority.

Awards were given to 454 transport workers this year, among them three who were named Kindness Champions — Madam Mas Siti, Mr Ramjee and ComfortDelGro taxi driver Lim Keng Seong.

With 18 years of driving experience under SMRT, Mr Ramjee, 44, believes in creating a pleasant experience for his passengers, such as by making sure all of them, especially pregnant women and the elderly, are seated before driving off.

“I always tell my colleagues that it’s very important to be patient, smile and greet every passenger to make them happy. My regular passengers are very happy when they see me. Some would even wait until my bus comes to the bus stop,” said Mr Ramjee, who has maintained a zero-complaint record since the start of his employment.

Mdm Mas Siti, 42, who works at Orchard MRT Station, said kindness must come from the heart. She keeps an eye out for those who might need help. “Once I saw a senior citizen who had difficulty walking in the queue, so I offered to top up her card first,” she said.

Mr Lim, meanwhile, is not only kind to those he ferries around. Once, spotting a handcyclist who was having technical difficulties on a flyover, the 62-year-old taxi driver stopped to direct motorists away.

“I saw the handcyclist sitting on a patch of grass with her handcycle on the road, so I was afraid the cars would hit them,” he said.

Speaking at the ceremony held at the School of the Arts yesterday, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew, who was guest-of-honour, said 63 per cent of travel within Singapore is done on public transport. “This number will continue to grow and we hope to see a 75 per cent public transport mode share by 2030.”

Good service, he emphasised, is important to encourage more Singaporeans to use public transport. “Just building the hardware and infrastructure is not sufficient. The quality of service provided by transport personnel to the commuters, and the behaviour of commuters themselves, are also critical,” he said. Elgin Chong