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NMPs urge Govt to roll out safe-distancing measures on public transport

SINGAPORE — Two Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) have called for measures to keep commuters at a safe distance from one another on public transport during the Covid-19 pandemic.

One Nominated Members of Parliament suggested that the authorities give more thought to measures such as blocking off alternate seats on trains and buses.

One Nominated Members of Parliament suggested that the authorities give more thought to measures such as blocking off alternate seats on trains and buses.

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SINGAPORE — Two Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) have called for measures to keep commuters at a safe distance from one another on public transport during the Covid-19 pandemic.  

NMP Mohamed Irshad told the House on Wednesday (March 25) that in MRT stations and at bus stops, people were still queuing close to one another during peak and off-peak hours. 

He suggested that the authorities give more thought to measures such as blocking off alternate seats on trains and buses.

Fellow NMP Anthea Ong said she was a public transport commuter and had not seen any change when it comes to safe-distancing measures on the network. 

In response, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said he agreed that safe-distancing measures should be rolled out on public transport, but the priority for now was to reduce the number of commuters. 

“If the numbers are still high, having safe distancing within a train or a bus will mean the queue goes up somewhere else,” said Mr Wong, who co-chairs a government taskforce tackling the virus.

“It will be in the bus stop. It will be outside the train station. There will still be a congregation, so… before we talk about measures within a train, on the escalators, (in the) stations and all that — all necessary — we have to bring down the sheer volume.”

In a letter to TODAY’s Voices section this week, reader Varun Naidu made a similar call, proposing that there could also be separation for standing passengers, and those waiting to board trains and buses.

FIRMS SHOULD MAKE TELECOMMUTING THE ‘DEFAULT’

To reduce the number of commuters on public transport, Mr Wong said the only solution was for workplaces to allow telecommuting or staggered hours.

While more employers are allowing staff members to do so, some are still resistant to the idea and want their employees to be in the office “when actually they can work from home”, he added.

Urging all firms to adopt telecommuting, Mr Wong said: “All workplaces must go on telecommuting as (the) default, wherever they can.”

The Government, in particular the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Manpower, will urge employers to “push more aggressively” on this front so as to minimise workers’ movements and contact with other people. 

“This is the only way to allow Singaporeans to continue working, while minimising their movements and contacts outside. And it is also how we can reduce the load on our public transport system, especially during peak hours.”

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Covid-19 coronavirus telecommuting public transport

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