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SINGAPORE \u2013 Jasmine Kurniawan sent her boyfriend, Alister Ong, a social media post from a wedding space designer looking for couples thinking about getting hitched, then she left it at that.<\/p>\n
The post led Ong, 33, to work with the designer and Tower Transit Singapore (TTS) to secretly plan a surprise wedding proposal, on June 27, in front of a TTS bus that had been converted into a wedding vehicle.<\/p>\n
The happy couple are the first to use TTS\u2019 new wedding bus, which was launched that day at its 10th anniversary celebration at Bulim Bus Depot in Jurong West.<\/p>\n
TTS said it will sponsor the couple\u2019s wedding ceremony when the time comes.<\/p>\n
Ong told the media he had only two weeks to plan for the proposal.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuses really mean a lot to us because I would send her home on a bus, then I\u2019d catch my last bus home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ong, who was born with cerebral palsy, added that because of his condition and wheelchair, using public buses is usually the most efficient method of travelling for him.<\/p>\n
A TTS spokesman said it received positive feedback on social media from the public about the idea of a wedding bus.<\/p>\n
Equipped with a TV and karaoke system, the bus also has a collapsible table for couples taking their vows on board in the presence of a licensed solemniser.<\/p>\n
TTS said couples will soon be able to charter the bus for a two-hour scenic ride around Singapore. More details will be released later in 2026.<\/p>\n
Paying tribute to TTS staff at the carnival, Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said the Government recognises there are few jobs as demanding as that of a bus driver, or bus captain, as the industry calls them.<\/p>\n
He had previously said in a June 3 social media post that the median age of local bus drivers was 56, and for every new recruit, two were retiring.<\/p>\n
On June 27, Siow said the Government was working with operators like TTS to improve the well-being of those in the industry, including implementing flexible work arrangements, shorter routes and higher salaries.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe adjustments enable us to keep the job as a good job that pays fairly, so that our captains can work with pride and dignity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
This comes on the back of a June 3 announcement by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) that the Government will fund a $450 monthly salary increase<\/span><\/a> for new Singaporean and permanent resident bus drivers. The new drivers will also receive an additional $2,000 in sign-on bonuses.<\/p>\n In all, the average monthly pay of a new bus driver will increase from about $3,600 to more than $4,000, after including overtime pay and allowances. Meanwhile, existing bus drivers will get a one-time pay increase of between $150 and $250.<\/p>\n The latest moves are aimed at attracting more locals to the profession, as more bus drivers will be needed as Singapore improves its bus network under the $900 million Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme.<\/p>\n LTA had said on June 4 the wage increases will not be borne by commuters<\/span><\/a>, as the salaries are not a factor in calculating changes to public transport fares.<\/p>\n In line with the move to attract and retain bus drivers, TTS announced on June 27 it was introducing a Bus Executive Officer scheme for its drivers.<\/p>\n This will allow TTS bus drivers to have dual vocations, combining driving with operational supervisory responsibilities, which include managing the dispatching of buses from the depots and interchanges.<\/p>\n TTS, which employs about 1,600 bus drivers, said the scheme is tailored for local diploma holders seeking a hands-on operational career.<\/p>\n Successful candidates will be given a starting salary of $5,000, fixed working hours and a structured career advancement track.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 Jasmine Kurniawan sent her boyfriend, Alister Ong, a social media post from a wedding space designer looking for couples thinking about getting hitched,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":64238,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=64237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64237\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/64238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=64237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=64237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=64237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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