Khaw Boon Wan: “The risk to commuters is low,” netizens raise concerns

In a recent Facebook post, Singapore Minister for Transport and Minister for Infrastructure Khaw Boon Wan discussed the new safety measures that will be taken within public transportation vehicles in order to limit the spread of Covid-19.

“Fortunately, with low community spread in Singapore, the risk to commuters is also low,” he said, before stating that heightened measures will be taken to reduce the risk even further. Netizens, however,  raised concerns of their own.

Mr Khaw on Tuesday (May 21) took to Facebook to discuss precautionary measures that would be taken by the Ministry of Transport in order to help contain local transmission of Covid-19. With measures set to ease up in a gradual series of phases beginning June 2, Mr Khaw addressed the expected influx of commuters who will be returning to work and school. “With ridership going back up, trains and buses will be more crowded, especially during peak periods. We will increase capacity of the trains and buses to the maximum,” he wrote.

Citing the infamous social distancing measure, Mr Khaw addressed the issue of it being hard to implement in confined spaces such as public transportation vehicles. “This poses a challenge for public transport,” he said, arguing that it would be even more difficult during peak hours.

Mr Khaw said that two additional key measures are being implemented in order to further reduce the already “low risk to commuters” –enhancing disinfecting operations “on all high-touch surfaces” within vehicles and requiring all commuters to don a mask and observe proper hygiene while inside public transport.

“Commuters can further protect fellow commuters by not talking loudly, either to one another or on their phones,” he said. “Above all, stay home if you feel unwell.”

In response to his post, netizens commented on some issues they had with the measures. While some questioned if the precautions would be effective especially at the peak of the day, when an influx of commuters is expected, others asked if additional carriages would be provided for certain routes.