Tower Transit to hold carnival at new Bulim Bus Depot

SINGAPORE — As it continues with its recruitment efforts, UK-based bus operator Tower Transit, which will begin running services in the second quarter of 2016 in western Singapore, is holding a carnival for the public at its new bus depot this Sunday (Dec 6). People will be able to tour the depot, take a bus ride and play carnival games, among other activities.

Tower Transit’s chief finance officer and head of business development Andrew Bujtor told reporters during a media visit to Bulim Bus Depot today (Nov 30) that recruitment efforts have resulted in a “positive” response so far.

The firm, which won the Government’s first package of bus routes under the new contracting model, said it has hired 30 Singaporeans who are new to the industry, and is sponsoring their Class 4 driving lessons.

As for the 500 affected bus captains working for SBS Transit and SMRT on the routes to be taken over by Tower Transit, Mr Bujtor said they have until the end of the year to decide if they want to take up the employment contracts offered by Tower Transit.

The operator will run 26 bus services out of the bus depot, which will service the Bukit Batok, Clementi and Jurong East bus interchanges. It plans to hire about 750 bus drivers by the middle of next year

“It’s very promising to see people that aren’t currently working in the bus industry want to come and join us at Tower Transit,” said Mr Bujtor.

Last month, the operator 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 of overtime a week, excluding CPF contributions.

The company is also trimming the workload of bus captains, who will not need to refuel, clean and park the buses at the end of their day, unlike their peers at SBS Transit and SMRT.

The bus depot, built by the Land Transport Authority, will house 500 buses. The depot has 40 engineering bays for maintenance, 10 refuelling stations and four bus washes.

Today, Tower Transit gave a tour of the recreational and rest facilities it installed for its staff at the depot. This includes a recreational area with two ping pong tables and two foosball tables, and rest areas with lounge beds.

Commenting on the bus depot, Mr  Bujtor said the “biggest consideration” is comfort for the bus captains and staff. “(Our) focus (is) making sure these guys are comfortable when they come to work ... that they enjoy coming to work is a key part of their job satisfaction,” he added.