‘10-year-old SG boy travelling alone in the bus!’ — German woman in Singapore is amazed, says, ‘You gotta love S’pore and its safety!’

SINGAPORE: When a German woman sat at a bus stop in Singapore, she didn’t just see buses come and go. She witnessed something that, by her own account, would be “unthinkable” back home: A young boy, about 10 years old, riding the bus on his own — cool as you please, FaceTiming his mum over the mobile phone for directions.

“Gotte love Singapore and its safety. Sitting at the bus stop waiting for my bus, and I see a boy (~10 years old) on the bus making his own way back home, face timing his mum if he should get out at this bus stop, and she’s yelling, ‘Get out!’ 😂 and he jumps out of the bus. You could never in Germany — it’s just not that safe to let kids travel alone,” she wrote in her TikTok video, later shared on Reddit’s r/SMRTRabak.

It's safer for kids to travel on public transport in SG compared to Germany
byu/ahboi-ah inSMRTRabak

In most places, letting a 10-year-old hop onto public transport without adult supervision would be considered reckless, but in Singapore, it’s just another Tuesday.

Mundane moments, extraordinary safety

What struck the German expat wasn’t just the child’s independence, but the sheer normalcy of it all. A boy FaceTiming his mum mid-ride? As one Redditor poked fun, “A child asking his mum on FaceTime whether he should get off the bus is such a Singaporean thing to do. hahaha.”

Another user chimed in with admiration: “That’s nice for Singapore :). A home to go back to. Mundane safety is satisfying.”

Why Singapore feels safer than others

The story sparked an online discussion about what makes Singapore so uniquely safe for kids. One commenter credited the country’s firm rule of law: “Singapore punishes people more harshly than most countries, so yeah.” Another pointed to the nation’s international reputation: “In safety aspects, Singapore ranks very high…”

It’s a perception backed by global rankings. Singapore consistently sits at the top of safety indexes — from low crime rates to the absence of everyday dangers that plague public spaces elsewhere. For locals, this kind of environment may feel ordinary, but for visitors, it can be jaw-dropping.

The little freedoms that matter

There’s a quiet kind of beauty in what this German woman observed. A boy taking public transport alone isn’t a grand, heroic story in Singapore — it’s actually just another everyday slice of life on the Little Red Dot, but that’s exactly why it resonates.

Safety in Singapore isn’t about dramatic gestures; it’s about the little freedoms — being able to walk home late at night, sending your kids on the bus, or simply waiting at a bus stop without worry.

And perhaps that’s why her words hit home: “You could never in Germany – it’s just not that safe to let kids travel alone.”

For Singaporeans, it serves as a reminder of something often taken for granted. For outsiders, it’s a revelation.

Read related: Singapore gets ranked No. 1 in ‘Top 10 Safest Countries in the World to Walk Alone at Night’ by Gallup 2025 Global Safety Report