Transport Sector (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill

in the long title, after “in Singapore,”, insert “to regulate the conduct of individuals on buses, at bus depots and at bus interchanges in Singapore,”;

in section 2, replace the definition of “bus depot” with —“ “bus depot” means any premises with purpose‑built facilities for the parking, maintenance or refuelling of buses, or the charging of batteries of buses (when the battery is attached to the bus), by bus operators holding Class 1 bus service licences, but does not include any such premises if located within any bus interchange;”;

in section 2, replace the definition of “bus interchange” with —“ “bus interchange” means a terminal or station with purpose‑built facilities —

for the commencement or termination of one or more bus services; and

that may also provide for the boarding or alighting of passengers;”;

in section 2, after the definition of “bus operator”, insert —“ “bus passenger”, in relation to a bus, means an individual carried on board the bus, and includes —

an individual boarding or intending to board the bus for the purpose of travelling on the bus as a passenger; and

an individual boarding or intending to board the bus, or travelling on the bus, for the purpose of engaging in any work on the bus;”;

in section 2, in the definition of “operate”, in paragraph (b), after sub‑paragraph (iii), insert —“(iv)merely charging the battery of a bus, or supplying electricity for the charging of batteries of buses, parked at a bus depot or bus interchange;”;

in section 3, after paragraph (aa), insert —“(ab)to regulate the conduct of bus passengers of buses, and members of the public at bus depots and bus interchanges, in Singapore;”;

in section 5(1), after “bus interchanges,”, insert “the conduct of bus passengers of buses, and members of the public at bus depots and bus interchanges, in Singapore,”;

in section 5(2)(a), after “seamless”, insert “, safe, secure”;

after Part 7, insert —“PART 7Aconduct OF INDIVIDUALS on buses and at bus depots and bus interchangesDivision 1 — Regulation of conduct of individuals on buses and at bus depots and bus interchangesScreening, etc., bus passengers and entrants to bus interchanges42AA.—

It is a condition of entry to any bus or bus interchange that a bus passenger of the bus or an entrant to the bus interchange must, if asked by a police officer or an approved person anywhere in or in the immediate vicinity of the bus or bus interchange, do one or more of the following for the purpose of ensuring the safety or security of persons who are or may be on board the bus or at the bus interchange:

undergo any form of security screening mentioned in subsection (2);

undergo a frisk search;

permit an inspection to be made of the bus passenger’s or entrant’s personal property;

permit a search through any bag, container or other receptacle or any garments removed in accordance with subsection (2).(2) To ensure the safety or security of persons who are or may be on board a bus or at any bus interchange, a police officer or an approved person may ask a bus passenger of the bus or an entrant to the bus interchange to do one or more of the following:

walk through a screening detector;

pass the bus passenger’s or entrant’s personal property through an X‑ray machine;

allow the police officer or approved person to pass a hand‑held scanner in close proximity to the bus passenger’s or entrant’s personal property;

allow the police officer or approved person to inspect the bus passenger’s or entrant’s personal property;

produce or empty the contents of any bag, container or other receptacle in the possession or apparently in the immediate control of the bus passenger or entrant;

turn out the bus passenger’s or entrant’s pockets or remove all articles from the bus passenger’s or entrant’s clothing, and allow the police officer or approved person to inspect them;

remove any coat, jacket, gloves, shoes or hat or any other thing worn or carried by the bus passenger or entrant, which may be conveniently removed if worn and that is specified by the police officer or approved person, and allow the police officer or approved person to inspect the coat, jacket, gloves, shoes or hat or other thing;

open an article for inspection and allow the police officer or approved person to inspect the article.(3) To ensure the safety or security of persons who are or may be on board a bus or at any bus interchange, a police officer or senior approved person may also ask a bus passenger of the bus or an entrant to the bus interchange to do one or more of the following:

undergo a frisk search;

allow the police officer or senior approved person to pass a hand‑held scanner in close proximity to the bus passenger or entrant.(4) To avoid doubt, a police officer or an approved person may make a request to a bus passenger of a bus or an entrant to a bus interchange to do anything under subsection (2)(d), (e), (f), (g) or (h) if the police officer or approved person (as the case may be) reasonably considers it necessary to make such a request under that provision, whether or not the bus passenger or entrant or the personal property of the bus passenger or entrant has been subjected to screening or a frisk search under subsection (2)(a), (b) or (c) or (3).(5) Without limiting subsection (6), where a bus passenger of a bus or an entrant to a bus interchange refuses —

to permit to be screened or inspected under subsection (2) or (3)(b) by a police officer, an approved person or a senior approved person, as the case may be —

the bus passenger’s or entrant’s personal property; or

any bag, container or other receptacle in the possession or apparently in the immediate control of the bus passenger or entrant;

to allow a police officer, an approved person or a senior approved person (as the case may be) to pass a hand‑held scanner in close proximity to the bus passenger or entrant or the bus passenger’s or entrant’s personal property under subsection (2) or (3)(b); or

to undergo a frisk search under subsection (3)(a) by a police officer or senior approved person,the police officer, approved person or senior approved person (as the case may be) may order the bus passenger or entrant to immediately leave the bus or bus interchange (as the case may be) with that personal property, bag, container or receptacle, as the case may be.(6) An individual who, without reasonable excuse, refuses or fails to comply with any request or order of a police officer, an approved person or a senior approved person (as the case may be) under subsection (2), (3) or (5) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000.(7) However, it is not an offence under subsection (6) for any individual to refuse to comply with any request or order made or given by —

a police officer who is not in uniform and who fails to declare his or her office; or

an approved person or a senior approved person who fails to declare his or her office and, in the case of an outsourced enforcement officer, who also refuses to produce his or her identification card on demand being made by that individual.(8) In this section —“approved person”, in relation to a bus or bus interchange, means any of the following individuals who is authorised by the LTA in writing to exercise any power under this section at or in relation to the bus or bus interchange concerned:

an officer or employee of the LTA;

a member of an auxiliary police force in uniform;

an employee of —

a bus operator holding a Class 1 bus service licence to provide a bus service using the bus; or

a bus interchange operator holding a bus interchange licence to operate the bus interchange;

a security officer (within the meaning given by section 13 of the Private Security Industry Act 2007) engaged by the bus operator or bus interchange operator mentioned in paragraph (c);

an outsourced enforcement officer;“entrant”, in relation to a bus interchange, means an individual who is about to enter the bus interchange, and includes an individual who is within the bus interchange, whether or not a bus passenger;“frisk search” means a search of an individual conducted by quickly running the hands over the individual’s outer clothing;“hand‑held scanner” means a device that may be passed over or around an individual or an individual’s personal property to detect metal, dangerous objects or explosive or other hazardous substances;“identification card”, in relation to an outsourced enforcement officer, means an identification card issued under section 11(3) of the Land Transport Authority of Singapore Act 1995 to the officer;“inspect”, in relation to an article, includes handling, opening, examining and moving the contents of the article;“outsourced enforcement officer”, in relation to any provision of this Part or regulations made for the purposes of this Part, means an individual who —

is appointed under section 11(1) of the Land Transport Authority of Singapore Act 1995;

is authorised by or under that Act to exercise any powers under any provision of this Part or regulations made for the purposes of this Part, as the case may be; and

is acting within that authorisation;“personal property”, in relation to an individual, means anything carried by the individual or anything apparently in the immediate control of the individual, but does not include clothing being worn by the individual;“senior approved person”, in relation to a bus or bus interchange, means an approved person who is authorised by the LTA in writing to exercise any power under this section at or in relation to the bus or bus interchange concerned, who is any of the following:

a member of an auxiliary police force in uniform;

a security officer (within the meaning given by section 13 of the Private Security Industry Act 2007) engaged by —

a bus operator holding a Class 1 bus service licence to provide a bus service using the bus; or

a bus interchange operator holding a bus interchange licence to operate the bus interchange;

an outsourced enforcement officer.Bringing dangerous items into bus or bus interchange42AB.—

It is also a condition of entry to any bus or bus interchange that a bus passenger of the bus or an entrant to the bus interchange must not take into or possess, when on board the bus or in the bus interchange, any dangerous item.(2) A bus passenger of a bus or an entrant to a bus interchange must not take a dangerous item on board the bus or into the bus interchange unless the bus passenger or entrant (as the case may be) has the express permission of a police officer or an approved person to do so.(3) An individual who contravenes subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.(4) However, it is not an offence under subsection (3) if the individual disposes of the dangerous item before boarding the bus or entering the bus interchange.(5) In this section —“approved person” and “entrant” have the meanings given by section 42AA(8);“dangerous item” means any of the following:

any gun, explosive, noxious substance or weapon within the meaning given by the Guns, Explosives and Weapons Control Act 2021;

any petroleum or any substance prescribed to be a flammable material for the purposes of the Fire Safety Act 1993;

any hazardous substance or corrosive substance;

any other article or substance which is capable of posing a risk to health, safety, property or the environment and is prescribed as a dangerous item.Offence of wilfully endangering safety42AC. Any person who wilfully does or omits to do anything in relation to any bus, bus depot or bus interchange as a result of which the safety of any person travelling on the bus or in the bus depot or bus interchange is endangered, or is likely to be so endangered, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both.Damage to bus, bus depot or bus interchange42AD. Any person who wilfully —

removes, destroys or damages anything that is part of any bus, bus depot or bus interchange; or

destroys or damages any bus, bus depot or bus interchange or any part of those premises,shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $200,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.Compensation for damaging bus, bus depot or bus interchange42AE.—

Any person who —

removes, destroys or damages anything that is part of any bus, bus depot or bus interchange; or

destroys or damages any bus, bus depot or bus interchange or any part of those premises,whether wilfully or otherwise, is, in addition to any penalty for which the person is liable for an offence under this Act, liable to pay compensation for the damage the person has done and the compensation is recoverable by civil action or suit before any court of competent jurisdiction.(2) Subject to subsection (1), any court before which a person is charged with an offence under this Act may assess the compensation payable under this section and may make an order for the payment of the same.(3) Any order made under subsection (2) may be enforced as if it were a judgment in a civil action or suit.Division 2 — Administration and enforcement of Part 7APurpose for which powers are exercisable42AF.—

An authorised officer may exercise the powers set out in section 42AG(1) to detect and investigate offences under this Part, including regulations made for the purposes of this Part (called in this Division the Regulations).(2) To avoid doubt, nothing in this Part limits section 39 of the Land Transport Authority of Singapore Act 1995 with respect to an offence under this Part or the Regulations.Powers of authorised officer42AG.—

The powers that an authorised officer may exercise for the purpose mentioned in section 42AF(1) are all or any of the following:

to enter, at any reasonable time, any bus, bus depot or bus interchange;

to require an individual suspected of committing an offence under this Part or the Regulations to provide evidence of the individual’s identity as may be required by the authorised officer;

to advise the individual to stop engaging in conduct that is an offence under this Part or the Regulations;

to photograph or film, or otherwise record the place where, or in respect of which, an offence under this Part or the Regulations was committed or is reasonably suspected to have been committed, and any individual in that place;

to take statements —

from an individual mentioned in paragraph (b) or (d); and

from any complainant against the individual mentioned in paragraph (b),and to require such an individual to make and sign a declaration of the truth of the statement made by the individual.(2) Any person who refuses to give access to, or obstructs, hinders or delays, an authorised officer or a person authorised under section 42AI in the exercise of his or her powers under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.(3) Any person who —

refuses to provide any information required of the person by an authorised officer under subsection (1) or by a person authorised under section 42AI acting under subsection (1); or

wilfully misstates that information,shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $500.Powers of arrest42AH.—

A police officer, or any employee of the LTA generally or specially authorised in writing by the Chief Executive of the LTA, may arrest without warrant any person found committing, or whom he or she has reason to believe has committed, an offence punishable under this Part or the Regulations.(2) A person arrested under subsection (1) must not be detained longer than is necessary for bringing the person before a court unless the order of court for the person’s continued detention is obtained.Authorised employee of licensee, etc., to exercise certain powers of authorised officers42AI. The LTA may, with the approval of the Minister, in writing authorise any licensee or employee of a licensee to exercise all or any of the powers of an authorised officer under section 42AG(1) subject to such conditions or limitations as the LTA may specify.Regulations for this Part42AJ.—

The LTA may make regulations under section 49 for the purposes of this Part, including —

controlling and regulating —

the conduct of bus passengers of a bus and members of the public at a bus interchange; and

any activity which may damage a bus or bus interchange or may endanger the safety of any individual who is travelling on a bus or is at a bus interchange; and

prescribing the terms and conditions relating to the use of any bus or bus interchange.(2) Regulations made for the purposes of this Part may apply to —

all buses, particular types of buses or buses operated in a particular manner; and

all bus interchanges or particular types of bus interchanges.”;

after section 47, insert —“Protection from personal liability47A. No liability shall lie against any member, officer or employee of the LTA or any other person acting under the direction of the LTA for anything done or intended to be done with reasonable care and in good faith in the execution or purported execution of this Act.”; and

in section 49(3)(a), after “exceeding $5,000”, insert “and, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine of $100 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction”.

in section 32(4)(a), after “in full or in part”, insert “for the purpose mentioned in subsection (1)(a)”;

in section 32, after subsection (4), insert —“(5) Despite subsection (4), the Council may, subject to such conditions as the Council thinks fit, grant an application to withdraw any sum of money from the Fund, for a purpose other than the purpose mentioned in subsection (1)(a), if —

the Fund is established and maintained by a person to whom a Class 1 bus service licence has been granted (called A);

the application is made by A;

the sum of money applied to be withdrawn does not exceed Z; and

the sum of money that is applied to be withdrawn does not include any amount paid into the Fund under subsection (1)(b) on or after the date of commencement of section 4 of the Transport Sector (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2025.(6) In subsection (5)(c), Z is an amount determined in accordance with the formula X – Y, where —

X is the amount standing in the Fund immediately before 1 January 2014; and

Y is the aggregate of the sum of moneys withdrawn from the Fund under subsection (4)(a) or (5) (as the case may be) on or after 1 January 2014 but prior to the application in question.”;

in sections 33(1) and 40(1)(c), after “section 32(4)”, insert “or (5)”; and

in section 67, replace subsection (1) with —“(1) The Council, or any officer of the Council or the LTA authorised by the Council, may compound any offence under this Act or any regulations made under this Act that is prescribed as a compoundable offence by collecting from a person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding the lower of the following:

one half of the amount of the maximum fine that is prescribed for the offence;

$10,000.”.

in section 2, in the definition of “appointed officer”, replace “section 89A(1)” with “section 89H(1)”;

in section 2, after the definition of “public licence”, insert —“ “Public Utilities Board” means the Public Utilities Board continued under section 3 of the Public Utilities Act 2001;”;

in section 2, after the definition of “regulations”, insert —“ “reservoir” means a body of water maintained as a reservoir by the Public Utilities Board in the following areas as defined in regulations made under section 72 of the Public Utilities Act 2001:

a Catchment Area Park;

the Central Water Catchment Area;”;

in section 2, after the definition of “vessel”, insert —“ “waterway” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Public Utilities Act 2001;”;

in section 27, after subsection (1), insert —“(1A) Where any fee is prescribed under subsection (1) for the use of a deposit site described in section 79(11A) —

the fee may take into account the cost of any of the matters specified in the Fourth Schedule, and may further be of an amount to encourage the deposit of objects and materials appropriately and responsibly, and in a sustainable manner;

different fees may be prescribed in relation to different objects or materials being deposited at different deposit sites;

the amount of the fee may be prescribed on a per unit volume basis; and

for the purposes of calculating the fee, the quantity or volume of objects or materials being deposited may be determined by the Authority in such manner as it thinks fit.”;

in section 79, after subsection (11), insert —“(11A) For the purpose of subsection (1)(b), the Authority may demarcate any part of a river, waterway or the seashore as described in subsection (1)(a) as a site (called in this section a deposit site) at which any object or material may be deposited, and may do such things as it considers necessary to develop, manage, monitor or maintain the deposit site.(11B) To avoid doubt, where any deposit site was originally a part of a river, waterway or the seashore lying below the high‑water mark of ordinary tides, nothing in this section prevents the Authority from giving or continuing to give consent for any object or material to be deposited at the deposit site even though the deposit of the object or material would be at or above the high‑water mark of ordinary tides at that deposit site.”;

after Part 13, insert —“PART 13AREGULATION OF INLAND CRAFTAdministration of this Part89H.—

The Chief Executive may in writing —

authorise any officer or employee of the Authority; or

appoint any officer of another statutory body,as an appointed officer for the purposes of regulating inland craft under this Act.(2) Every appointed officer, when exercising any power or carrying out any duty of an appointed officer under this Act, must comply with such general or specific directions as the Chief Executive may, from time to time, give to the appointed officer.Power to board inland craft, etc.89I.—

Without limiting any powers under Parts 15 and 16, any appointed officer may exercise all or any of the powers in subsection (2) for the purpose of —

ascertaining whether the provisions of the regulations made under section 89J are being complied with; or

investigating any offence under the regulations made under section 89J.(2) The powers mentioned in subsection (1) are as follows:

to board any inland craft;

to search any inland craft and take possession of anything found on board the inland craft;

to require any person to produce any record, certificate, notice or document that is in the person’s possession;

to take and retain extracts from or copies of any record, certificate, notice or document mentioned in paragraph (c);

to take and retain samples of any materials (whether solid, liquid, gaseous or vapour) found on board the inland craft for analysis for the purpose in subsection (1)(a) or (b);

to take such photographs as the officer reasonably believes to be necessary for the purpose in subsection (1)(a) or (b);

to require any person to —

provide evidence of the person’s identity; or

produce for inspection any papers relating to the registration of the inland craft or for the purpose of identifying the inland craft.Regulations for this Part89J.—

The Authority may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations for the purposes of this Part, including all or any of the following matters:

the construction of inland craft, including the machinery, equipment, fittings, installations, appliances and apparatus of inland craft;

the maintenance of inland craft, including the provision, maintenance and stowage of life‑saving and fire‑fighting appliances and apparatus;

the survey of inland craft, and the issue, suspension, cancellation or extension, and period of validity, of certificates or exemption certificates relating to such survey, and the types and forms of the certificates;

the measures and standards to be complied with where dangerous cargoes are conveyed, utilised, stowed or kept on board any inland craft while within any reservoir or waterway;

the safe operation and navigation of inland craft in reservoirs and waterways, their use of navigation lights and signals in the reservoirs and waterways, and the steps to be taken for avoiding collision;

the qualifications required for manning inland craft, including requiring officers and crew of inland craft to satisfy all or any of the following requirements:

to undergo any training that the Port Master may require;

to attain a certain standard of competence or a certain grade in a specified examination;

to obtain any specified licence, certificate or approval;

to provide that any contravention of or failure to comply with any regulations made under this section shall be an offence punishable with —

a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both; and

in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine not exceeding $250 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction;

to prescribe anything that may be prescribed under this Part.(2) The Authority may, in making regulations under subsection (1), incorporate by reference —

any regulation made by the Authority under section 119 or under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, with or without modification; or

any recognised international standard, code or guideline relating to the safety of operation and navigation of, the standards of construction of, the manning of, or the loading or carriage of goods (including dangerous goods) on, vessels or inland craft.(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b), the Authority may incorporate by reference any standard, code or guideline mentioned in that provision —

either as in force on a particular date specified or as amended from time to time; and

with or without modification.(4) The Authority must cause all standards, codes or guidelines incorporated by it under subsection (2)(b) to be published on the Authority’s Internet website at https://www.mpa.gov.sg or any other prescribed website.”;

in sections 97A(6), 102(2) and 111(2)(b), replace “section 89C” with “section 89J”;

in section 103, in the section heading, replace “to Authority” with “into Consolidated Fund”;

in section 118A, in the section heading, replace “Schedule” with “and Fourth Schedules”;

in section 118A, after “Third”, insert “or Fourth”; and

after the Third Schedule, insert —“FOURTH SCHEDULESections 27(1A) and 118Amatters THE COST OF WHICH may be taken into account in prescribing fees under section 27(1A)

in section 2(1), in the definition of “Director”, replace “the Deputy Director of Marine” with “a Deputy Director of Marine”;

in section 4, in the section heading, after “Director of Marine”, insert “, etc.”;

in section 4(1), replace “a Deputy Director of Marine” with “one or more Deputy Directors of Marine”;

in the following provisions, replace “declaration” with “statement”:Section 11(1)(b)Section 13(1)(c)Section 21(1)(a), (b) and (c) and (2)Section 39(2);

in section 11(2), replace “declarations on behalf of the corporation, has made and signed a declaration” with “statements on behalf of the corporation, has made and signed a statement”;

in section 11(2)(d), replace the semi‑colon at the end with a full‑stop;

in section 11(2), delete paragraph (e);

in section 18(3), delete “and must endorse on the bill of sale the fact of that entry having been made with the date and time thereof”;

in section 21(1)(a), delete “and (e)”;

in section 32(1), replace “declaration of” with “statement of transmission made by”;

in section 32(2) and (3), replace “declaration” with “statement of transmission”; and

in section 186(1)(d), after “declaration”, insert “or statement”.

is given, before the date of commencement of section 5 by the Land Transport Authority of Singapore under section 127B(9) of the Road Traffic Act 1961 in respect of an approved person or a senior approved person; and

is in force immediately before that date,is to continue as if the Land Transport Authority of Singapore had given the authorisation under section 42AA(8) of the Bus Services Industry Act 2015 as amended by this Act.