Branded Content

A fall, a commuter’s panic, and the push to offer more than transit

Through frontline staff training and community partnerships, SMRT is working to reshape its network into places of care, culture, and connection

Kintan Andanari, Brand Newsroom

A loud thump cut through the hum of Kent Ridge MRT station. Then came a commuter’s shout: “Someone fell down!”

Assistant station manager Susie Low, 40, still recalls what followed that Wednesday morning in September 2024.

Low and two colleagues rushed from the passenger service centre to the top of the escalator, where they found a woman in her late-60s lying face-down on the floor plate. Blood was oozing from her head, says Low.

They moved the woman to a wheelchair and into a care room, while another colleague kept the station running.

As Low tended to the wound, she caught the woman’s eyes darting sideways – a look she had come to recognise as panic and confusion. She eased her into conversation, knowing she needed reassurance.

That instinct came from two places. Low, who joined SMRT in 2021, credits the organisation’s frontline training – a four-to-six month programme before deployment, followed by monthly refreshers covering over 120 scenarios.

It also came from home. Low had spent a year caring for her late father, who passed in 2009 from late-stage prostate cancer. She is now the primary caregiver for her 80-year-old mother and 47-year-old sister, who has special needs.

As the woman calmed down, she asked Low not to contact her children, who were working. But the wound still needed to be checked at the hospital.

“Put your trust in me,” Low recalls telling the woman. With a colleague, Low wheeled her towards the National University Hospital’s accident and emergency (A&E) department, some five to seven minutes walk from the station, she says.

Low stayed with her through registration so she would not feel alone, she adds.

Low was awarded a Commendation Award at last year’s National Kindness Awards – Transport Gold, which celebrates exemplary workers in the transport industry.

SMRT received 14 Outstanding Awards, the top honour, and 806 Commendation Awards.

Serving evolving needs

Low’s response reflects how SMRT’s approach to service has evolved over the past decade.

“Service delivery has always been a part of the company,” says Alvin Kek, 59, its chief commuter engagement and service excellence officer and senior vice-president for rail operations.

But in the early 2010s, as the network focused on operational reliability, service covered only the basics: clean trains and stations, functioning ticketing machines and fare gates.

He recalls how projects, which he handled with colleague Dave Ong, 50, head of Commuter and Community Engagement, started small: care stickers for pregnant women and senior commuters, and charging kiosks for mobile devices.

Frontline staff were encouraged to step out and greet commuters too. Many were hesitant, as they had signed up mainly to run operations, he says.

SMRT’s senior management joined in, Kek and Ong among them. They learnt that small gestures mattered: Standing with an open posture to be more welcoming, or giving directions with an open palm instead of pointing a finger.

The practice now extends beyond frontline staff. All new SMRT executives spend an hour greeting commuters too.

The push deepened after board member Yap Kim Wah’s suggestion: ‘As (Singapore’s) dominant train operator, could we make our reach more useful – a place residents can turn to for help?’, Kek recalls him saying.

With that, the initiative “Go-To SMRT” was launched to make SMRT’s train stations and bus interchanges one of the first places people can turn to for help, he adds.

SMRT runs 135 MRT and LRT stations and six bus interchanges, owned by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), with around 2.08 million train rides and 820,000 bus trips made daily in June 2026.

SMRT has since aimed to make service more than about moving commuters between stations. It also wants to support them in times of uncertainty, distress or vulnerability.

That means training over 4,000 frontline staff to keep pace with commuters’ evolving needs, says Kek.

After four to six months of initial training, they continue monthly role play exercises covering over 120 situations, says Joyce Chang, 45, SMRT’s head of Service Excellence and Rail Digital Media, ranging from assisting with fare payment to reuniting a lost child with a parent.

Kek says: “To promote inclusivity and bring vibrancy to the network, SMRT has engaged more than 100 organisations to better understand community needs.”

With Singapore’s population ageing and dementia cases expected to climb, the Agency for Integrated Care, which coordinates care services for seniors, helped train staff to recognise and support commuters living with dementia.

If someone appears lost, they can be brought to any SMRT-operated MRT station or bus interchange, where staff help reunite them with caregivers. These now serve as “Dementia Go-To-Points”.

Growing with the community

Today, Kek sees a shift in the feedback SMRT receives.

Stories of staff going the extra mile, including deftly steering massive crowds at stations during major concerts and lifting spirits in long queues, regularly surface on social media, he says.

“Any feedback that makes my staff feel proud of what they do,” he says, makes him happy.

For Ong, impact on people is what matters most.

He remembers a lively primary school student from SMRT’s first batch of Adopt‑A‑Station programme in 2014.

At first, the boy was disheartened when no commuter responded to his greetings. Ong urged him to keep going. The boy returned later that day, beaming: three people had waved back.

Fostering a caring community

A truly inclusive public transport network depends just as much on the public as it does on SMRT staff, says Joyce Chang, 45, SMRT’s head of Service Excellence and Rail Digital Media.

SMRT runs a Caring Commuter Champion programme, spearheaded by the Public Transport Council (PTC), inviting commuters to be trained in assisting fellow commuters with various needs.

The push comes as commuter etiquette remains a sore point on public transport. A PTC customer satisfaction survey published in July flagged care and consideration shown by other commuters as an area needing improvement, alongside crowding and waiting times.

SMRT also hopes to foster a caring culture from a young age through its Adopt-A-Station programme, which brings students in as Student Service Ambassadors, says Dave Ong, 50, SMRT’s head of Commuter and Community Engagement. Participants span kindergarteners to students at institutes of higher learning.

Beyond learning about the amenities and safety features in the station, students are taught how to spot when a commuter might need help, and how to respond.

“They can always approach an adult for help, or render assistance if they are capable and confident,” Ong says.

“It’s not just dependent on our people – it’s you and me and everyone else caring (for other) commuters,” adds Chang.

He continued with the programme for another two years. Later on, his grandmother told Ong how eagerly the boy had shared stories from every session, Ong recalls.

The incident reinforces his belief that the work they do can make a difference to people’s lives. Ong hopes to extend SMRT’s community efforts further, giving more space for people, especially those with disabilities, to showcase their talent.

It taps into what public transport offers, Kek says, “a place where everyone connects.”

Working with the National Arts Council, SMRT pipes local music into stations and bus interchanges. Buskers perform at certain train stations, and pianos at six stations have become commuter favourites, he adds.

While stations continue to evolve, Low’s focus remains the same. She tries to spot those who need help – especially the elderly – before they even ask.

Her connection to the MRT began long before she joined SMRT. As a child, her late father brought her to ride Singapore’s first train in 1987 – a memory she still cherishes.

Today, the role’s shift work gives her the flexibility to care for her mother and sister when needed, and opportunities to look out for others too.

Now an assistant station manager at HarbourFront station, Low did not expect an award for helping the woman that day.

The gratitude of the woman’s children, who returned later that week to thank her, was enough.

It is the simplest things that stay with her: “A thank you can really light up our day.”

This article was produced in partnership with SMRT.