Tower Transit pulls out stops in push to woo drivers

SINGAPORE — With its entry shaking up the public transportation sector here, the first foreign public bus operator is hoping to jolt things up further by offering higher basic starting pay, trimming the workload of bus captains and treating them as “professionals”.

For a start, their drivers need not carry out duties such as refuelling, cleaning and parking the buses at the end of their day, unlike their counterparts at SBS Transit and SMRT. And annual wage increments will be based on cost of living increases rather than work performance. To reward good performance, the operator will pay out incentives.

Today (Nov 12), Tower Transit announced its employment package for bus drivers. A Singaporean bus captain will get basic starting wages of up to S$1,865 a month and up to S$3,000 a month if they work 10 hours overtime per week, excluding employer CPF contributions. A master bus captain with advanced skills certification will get a basic pay of S$3,000, before overtime.

Female drivers will get up to 6.5 months (26 weeks) of paid maternity leave, 2.5 months more than the government-paid maternity leave duration, while male drivers will get up to two weeks of paternity leave.

In comparison, the basic starting pay of a Singaporean bus captain at SBS is S$1,775, before allowances and incentives. With overtime they can earn up to S$3,000 a month. SMRT did not respond to queries. In 2013, SMRT announced a progressive career scheme for drivers, under which they can earn up to S$3,500 a month with overtime and performance incentives.

“We’re in a position to … come up with a compelling and competitive proposition for bus drivers to steer the bus industry forward,” said Tower Transit CEO Adam Leishman, who was speaking at a press conference held at Bulim bus depot today, where they also signed an memorandum of understanding with the National Transport Workers’ Union.

“We like to see this as an employee-centric package, which tries to accommodate to (our) employees, and give them flexibility and benefits that are unique to individual circumstances.”

Tower Transit’s CFO Andrew Bujtor said pegging annual increment to the Ministry of Manpower’s wage index is to ensure no one will fall behind rising costs of living. Performance-based incentives will be given out, with individual performance to be determined by a telemetric system that will judge the smoothness, eco-friendliness — how often a bus is left idling — and safety of the bus ride. Drivers will be able to log onto the system to see the number of points accumulated.

As for why drivers will not need to handle the refuelling, washing and parking of buses — in line with its operations in London — Mr Bujtor said: “It ensures that our bus captains can focus on their driving, and after a hard day’s work, they can get home on time to their family, and rest and recuperate to do the job safely and effectively.”

Tower Transit will also be offering sponsorship for Workforce Skills Qualifications courses and potentially up to diploma and degree courses, for those looking to develop their careers further. Drivers can also draw on flexible benefit credits of up to S$700 a year — which can cover dental expenses, health screening, gym and other health memberships, child care fees, and educational course fees.

Tower Transit won the Government’s first package of routes under the new bus contracting model, beating 10 other bids submitted by local and foreign players. It will operate 26 bus services out of Bulim Bus Depot which will serve the Bukit Batok, Clementi and Jurong East bus interchanges.

Nearly 500 transport workers from SBS Transit and SMRT will be affected by the move. Under guidelines issued by the Public Transport Tripartite Committee, Tower Transit must offer the affected employees a job with terms that at least match what employees were enjoying before the transition.  Affected staff must also be allowed to choose whether they wish to join the new operator or be redeployed by their current employer.

The company did not say how many affected drivers have decided to join them, but said it has seen interest from nearly 400 prospective staff.

In an interview with TODAY in May after winning the contract, Tower Transit said it had proposed a work-and-train programme under which school-leavers or those who have completed their National Service can work for their company and obtain a vehicle licence and a qualification at the same time. It also said shifts — the demands of which have deterred Singaporeans from joining the manpower-crunched industry — can be made more flexible or shortened to attract more women.

Today, the company did not elaborate on minimum hours required of drivers, and said details of shifts are still being worked out. It hopes to do most of its recruitment in January to May, and aims to have about 750 bus drivers by mid-2016.

When asked how many drivers hired would be foreigners, Mr Leishman responded that they are focusing their early recruitment efforts on “developing a Singapore core” for their business.