Instead of lorries, could the new minibus service be the answer to ferrying migrant workers safely?

Singapore — The custom of transporting Singapore’s migrant workers in lorries has been questioned by some as problematic. 

In April of this year, two accidents within five days involving lorries transporting workers claimed the lives of two workers and sent over a dozen others to the hospital.

This led to calls for the Ministry of Manpower and the LTA to ban people from being “transported like cattle,” as actor and director Hossan Leong put it in a tweet on Apr 25.

In September, a petition asking the Land Transport Authority to make safe transport mandatory gained traction anew on the change.org site after photos of migrant workers in lorries under heavy rains circulated on social media.

To date, over 40,000 people have signed the petition.

Late last month, construction technology startup Aespada announced that it had onboarded a fleet of minibuses for transporting migrant construction workers from their dorms to their worksite.

“Using minibuses is a much safer alternative than transporting workers at the back of lorries,” the company wrote, adding that it was calling on the “construction industry to start using minibuses before more accidents happen.”

Aespada added that each vehicle is cleaned and sanitized after use to keep the workers safe from illness.

Mr Jean Christophe Li, the company’s founder, is quoted in CNA as saying, “This has been a decade-long issue with workers travelling on lorries like cattle.

Especially, in recent weeks, it is raining almost every day, you can see the workers trying to take cover under garbage bags.

“What we offer is an immediate alternative option for companies out there who wish to provide a better and safer transportation for their workers.”

However, since Aespada’s fleet currently only has 7, 9 and 13 seater buses, the option may not be as attractive for companies with larger manpower needs.

MP Melvin Yong (Radin Mas SMC), who is the assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress, welcomed Aespada’s initiative, pointing out in a Straits Times article last month that with the driver of the bus outsourced, this would minimise driver fatigue and which would result in preventing more accidents.

In Parliament in May, a month after the back-to-back lorry accidents, Dr Amy Khor, the Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Transport, said that mandating safer means of transport would add financial burdens to an industry already badly affected by the pandemic.

She said, “From a road safety perspective, it would be ideal for lorries not to carry any passengers in their rear decks. But there are very significant practical and operational issues — on top of just cost considerations — which is probably why internationally, it is (a common) practice.” /TISG

Read also: Thousands sign petition asking LTA to make safe transport mandatory after photos of migrant workers in lorries during rain circulate

Thousands sign petition asking LTA to make safe transport mandatory after photos of migrant workers in lorries during rain circulate