Mr Deputy Speaker, Singapore has always been a place where the world arrives, connects and moves on. It is the result of decades of investment, sound policy and, above all, generations of transport workers.
Because of my work as the Executive Secretary of the National Transport Workers' Union (NTWU), and as Advisor to the National Taxi Association (NTA) and National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA), I wish to take this opportunity to speak up for our transport workers as we advance Singapore's position as a Global Transport Hub.
As we discuss Singapore's future as a global transport hub, let us also remember the people who make that future possible every single day—the bus captains, rail workers, taxi and private hire drivers, logistics workers, technicians, aircrew and seafarers who keep Singapore moving, often long before dawn and long after midnight.
They are not simply part of our transport system.
They are the reason it works.
AI, robotics and frontier technologies will undoubtedly transform transport.
Used wisely, technology can make work safer, more productive and more meaningful. But if transitions are poorly managed, they can also create uncertainty and anxiety. As we embrace an AI-enabled transport system, one of Global Significance, we must reimagine—with workers at the heart of the process—what jobs, skills and careers will look like in the future.
And that begins with listening.
Because when we truly listen to workers, we stop asking:
"Which jobs will disappear?”
"How many jobs will be displaced?"
Instead, we begin asking better questions.
"What strengths do our workers already possess, and how can we build the future around those strengths?"
"What practical barriers must we remove if we want workers to embrace transformation?"
"And what support must we provide so that no worker is left behind?"
Over the past few months, together with my Union Leaders and NTUC colleagues, I have spent considerable time on the ground through focus group discussions and individual engagements with bus captains, taxi drivers and private hire drivers.
Every day, our transport workers witness our transport system transforming right before their eyes. They know AI and new technologies are changing the way we move. They are understandably anxious, but they are also curious. Following the Economic Strategy Review, our workers understand that Singapore must continue to innovate and remain competitive. They are not asking us to slow down. They are asking not to be left behind.
Eve has been driving a taxi for the past 12 years. She put it more eloquently than I ever could. "科技发展当然是好事，但在这个过程中，不要忘记我们的司机和车长。大家一定要跟着科技一起进步，一起往前走。*Technology must move Singapore forward. But the true measure of progress is whether it brings our people forward with it.
Throughout these engagements, one message came through clearly. Our transport workers are asking a deeply human question: "Where do I fit in the future of Singapore as a Global Transport Hub?"
Our workers want to know what opportunities technology might create, what skills they should begin building today, and how they can continue contributing meaningfully tomorrow. Our workers are asking for a fair and thoughtful transition. They want the assurance that they will not be left to navigate this change alone, because the clarity they seek is not simply about jobs. It is about lives and livelihoods.
For Mr Low, a private hire driver in his early 40s, it means having the flexibility to earn a living while caring for his 64-year-old mother and taking her to her medical appointments.
For Aly, who drives a combi-limo, it means earning enough to provide a better future for her five young daughters.
For Ah Ban, who proudly became Singapore's first EV taxi driver, it means continuing to build a career that he takes pride in as the industry evolves.
And for Harry, after 31 years behind the wheel, retirement does not mean stepping away from transport. He imagines a future where owning an autonomous vehicle fleet with his friends becomes the next chapter of his working life—a retirement built not on stopping work, but on the experience he has spent three decades building.
These are stories of real drivers and their real names but this is what our workers are asking for. Not certainty about the future. None of us can promise that. But clarity that there is a place for them in it.
As we continue building Singapore as a global business and transport hub, we must do more than create the industries of tomorrow. We must also redesign the jobs of tomorrow—making work safer, more productive and more meaningful, while keeping workers' needs and livelihoods at the heart of every transformation.
We have already seen how this can work in real life.
• To enhance workplace safety and raise productivity, SBS Transit envisaged introducing predictive AI-enabled maintenance solutions across its bus and rail maintenance operations.
• Working closely with the National Transport Workers' Union through the NTUC Company Training Committee initiative, SBS Transit consulted widely with workers before implementing a suite of predictive maintenance solutions—from tire and track inspections to facility management in depots and interchanges.
• In doing so, SBS Transit developed new specialist capabilities. Through its Diagnostic Expert Scheme, workers could move into higher-value maintenance work with progressive career pathways, enhanced livelihoods and safer workplaces.
In this case, technology did not replace our workers. It lifted our workers.
Through our engagements, we also heard about the practical barriers our transport workers face as they prepare for transition. Unlike salaried employees, point-to-point drivers stop earning the moment they stop driving. Every hour spent in training is an hour of forgone income. For many, attending a course is not simply about setting aside time. It also means paying vehicle rental, covering operating costs and giving up precious earning opportunities. The opportunity cost of transformation is therefore much higher for our P2P drivers. If transformation comes at too high a personal cost, even the best training programme will struggle to succeed.
Our drivers are also deeply pragmatic about upskilling. They understand that, they must continue learning to remain relevant, whether within or beyond the transport industry. But they have also told us, time and again, that training must lead somewhere. It must open the door to real jobs, real opportunities and sustainable livelihoods. After all, our drivers have mortgages to pay, ageing parents to care for and children to raise.
Finally, any upskilling pathway must recognise why many entered the point-to-point sector in the first place. Flexibility is not a convenience. It is one of the profession's defining features. Many drivers choose this career precisely because it allows them to balance caregiving responsibilities, family commitments and other life circumstances. If we want them to embrace lifelong learning, then our training ecosystem must be equally flexible.
Mr Deputy Speaker, to make job reimagination happen at scale, we must invest in our workforce with the same determination that we have invested in our land, aviation, maritime and logistics infrastructure. Allow me to suggest three areas for action.
First, transformation works best when workers help design it. Job redesign must begin before disruption occurs, and workers and unions must be part of the conversation from the outset. We cannot design the future of work without workers. This House unanimously passed the Motion on "An AI Transition with No Jobless Growth" in May. I encourage the Government to continue working closely with NTUC, our unions and the Tripartite Jobs Council to identify how jobs are evolving, expand AI-Ready SG to equip more workers with AI capabilities, and encourage more companies to leverage Company Training Committee grants to support job redesign and workforce transformation across the transport sector.
Second, workers need visible and credible pathways into future jobs.
a. For bus captains, future roles should continue building on the valuable capabilities they have already developed—managing commuters, responding to real-world situations and ensuring passenger safety.
b. For taxi and private hire drivers, emerging opportunities such as safety operators and remote operators should provide meaningful pathways into the autonomous vehicle ecosystem. Their years of road experience will strengthen the safety and operational readiness of future mobility services.
c. The transition support we provide matters too, particularly for workers whose livelihoods depend on being behind the wheel every day. We should create more flexible training pathways, expand Place-and-Train programmes, strengthen company-level apprenticeships and expand flexible work arrangements to include flexible training arrangements.
d. For technicians and skilled tradesmen, the shift towards electrification presents one of the greatest opportunities for workforce transformation. Singapore should position itself not only as a leader in electric mobility, but also as a regional centre of excellence for EV maintenance, battery systems and digital diagnostics. Roles such as EV technicians and EV technical specialists will become increasingly valuable as transport systems across the world become more technologically sophisticated. This is not just a Singapore trend. Around the world, countries are investing heavily in these specialised capabilities.
Mr Deputy Speaker, Singapore must seize this opportunity—not only to create better jobs locally, but to equip our workers with skills that are globally recognized, relevant and desired. They must see how they can progress from technician, to specialist, to diagnostic expert, and eventually into engineering, supervisory and leadership positions. The recently launched Skills Pathway for EV Technical Specialists is an encouraging step in this direction. When workers can clearly see both the skills required and the pathway ahead, they are far more likely to embrace change with confidence.
As we transform the transport sector, let us also measure whether transformation is delivering what truly matters. Not simply more technology. But better jobs. One possibility is a sector-level report card within our Industry Transformation Maps that tracks whether new and redesigned jobs are being created, whether these jobs are of good quality, and whether they deliver what NTUC calls the 3Ws—better Wages, better Welfare and better Work Prospects.
Third, autonomous vehicles must complement drivers—not compete against them. The Tripartite has already begun important work through various workgroups and steering committees to guide Singapore's national AV deployment. This is a nascent space, and it is important that the Labour Movement continues to have a seat at the table. We will continue speaking up for workers on deployment concerns, liability and regulatory frameworks, and most importantly, how the AV industry can create good local jobs and build Singaporean capabilities. We look forward to seeing workers' views incorporated into MOT's national AV deployment plans.
An example is that our drivers have also suggested prioritising AV deployment in areas where connectivity remains challenging or where transport gaps already exist. I am glad this sentiment was also raised earlier by the Honourable Member Mr Ang Wei Neng and his constituents. As Tripartite partners, we can—and we must—ensure that autonomous vehicles become another opportunity to strengthen, rather than weaken, workers' prospects and livelihoods.
Mr Deputy Speaker, in Mandarin please.
议长先生，我们的德士司机、私召车司机，还有巴士车长，其实都不会防新科技。他们只想知道——当自动驾驶来临的时候，还有没有他们的一席之地。科技的进步，应该让司机们的工作更安全、更有尊严，而不是让他们失去饭碗。
只要我们提早为司机们重新设计工作，做好转型的安排，把工友放在转型的中心，科技就能为他们带来新的技能、新的岗位，和更好的前景。
Throughout my engagements, one question stayed with me. "Where do I fit in the future of transport?"
Our responsibility is to ensure every transport worker has an answer. That answer is not simply another training course. It is a pathway. A pathway to better skills. Better jobs. Better livelihoods.
We may not be able to preserve every job exactly as it exists today. But we must preserve livelihoods and create pathways to the next good job. If we get this right, Singapore will not only remain as the world's leading transport hubs. We will become something even more important—a transport hub where innovation advances together with workers, and where progress is measured not only by how far technology takes us, but by how far it brings our people.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the Motion. Thank you.
