Starting pay for new local bus captains to rise by S$450 with government funding

“However, we recognise that bus captains have a challenging job, with shift work being the norm, and the pressures of ferrying passengers safely and punctually through busy roads,” LTA, NTWU and the operators said in the statement.

The workforce is also ageing – for every local bus captain recruited, two are leaving the industry due to resignation or retirement.

As a result, the proportion of local bus captains has fallen from 54 per cent in 2021 to 41 per cent in 2025.

In this regard, the bus operators will continue to improve the attractiveness and safety of the bus captain role, the joint statement said.

Measures include shortening the continuous driving time on long bus routes, as well as reducing split-shift assignments, where bus captains drive only the morning and evening peak with an unpaid period in between.

The challenge of hiring local bus drivers is a longstanding one, with operators raising salaries and dangling hefty sign-on bonuses to attract jobseekers, sometimes after negotiations with unions.

For example, in 2016, discussions between public bus operator SBS Transit and the NTWU led to a 15 per cent wage increase for bus captains in hopes of attracting more locals. 

More recently, public bus operators Go-Ahead Singapore and SBS Transit have been advertising sign-on bonuses of up to S$20,000. SMRT advertised a sign-on bonus of up to S$33,000. 

Tower Transit has since 2023 offered a S$7,200 sign-on bonus for new bus captains or those who have not driven buses for at least a year. The bonus was raised to S$10,000 earlier this year. 

CNA has sought comment from LTA on whether this is the first time the government is stepping in to provide funding support for bus captains’ salaries, and the source of these funds.