Seat belts compulsory for Singapore new minibuses
Bigger school buses exempt; subsidy for needy to cope with any fee increase due to rule
By Nur Dianah Suhaimi and Dhany Osman
The green light has been given for seat belts on school minibuses. The Government will start by making it compulsory for all new buses with up to 15 seats to be fitted with seat belts, Transport Minister Raymond Lim said yesterday.
As for minibuses already on the road, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will need some time to study how they can best be retrofitted with seat belts, he said, speaking on the issue for the first time.
Speaking to Fengshan residents at a community dialogue in Tanah Merah, Mr Lim said: ‘The issue is not whether to do it but how best to implement it.’
He explained that the LTA would need three to six months to study how to fit seat belts into the 1,550 minibuses now on the road.
These buses have different designs and seat configurations. The issue here is that any change must be ‘effective in enhancing safety’.
If ‘they (the LTA) can do it sooner, they will do so’, Mr Lim said.
The LTA also needs to take into account the schoolchildren who may face some transport disruption when minibuses are retrofitted, he said.
Only minibuses will be fitted with seat belts. Bigger school buses will be exempt.
Said Mr Lim: ‘If you look at countries that had mandated seat belts, they have done so only for small buses. That is the international practice; we will follow that.’
Public pressure for seat belts on school buses has mounted since Russell Koh, eight, died last month after being flung out of a school minibus which did not have seat belts fitted.
Since the accident, parents and MPs have called for seat belts to be made mandatory for school buses.
However, school bus operators, while agreeing with the safety aspect, have expressed concerns over issues such as the reduced seating capacity on their buses.
This would affect their bottom line and mean higher bus fees for parents.
Mr Lim assured parents that needy families would be given assistance to cope with any increase in bus fees. The subsidies would not be given ‘across the board’ as ’some people can well afford it’, he said.
Parents and bus operators welcomed the news, saying that they were glad a decision had finally been reached.
Mr Louis Loh, 36, manager of Loh Gim Chong Transport, said: ‘In the past few years, the issue has been neither here nor there. I am glad there is finally some confirmation.’
His only concern was to be given enough time to retrofit his five minibuses.
‘We have only the weekends and the school holidays to do the retrofitting,’ Mr Loh said.
Asked if the LTA would provide financial help to bus operators who will need to fit seat belts on existing minibuses, the Transport Minister said that the authority will consider it as part of its study.
Source : Straits Times - 18 May 2008
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