SINGAPORE, Sept 21 — Bus commuters who blast music, put their feet on seats or behave disruptively can be fined up to S$500 (RM1,597) from September 23, under new rules introduced to make public transport rides safer and more pleasant.

According to The Straits Times, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said the updated regulations bring bus penalties in line with those already applied on trains. More severe offences — such as obstructing operations at bus interchanges, causing danger to others, or soiling buses and interchange facilities — will carry fines of up to S$5,000.

LTA stressed that public transport is a shared space and that “every commuter has a part to play” in maintaining a gracious commuting environment.

To enforce the new rules, selected staff from the four public bus operators — including ticket inspectors and interchange personnel — will be authorised to issue administrative notifications to passengers suspected of committing offences. LTA will then follow up with investigations.

Bus drivers, however, will not be allowed to issue such notices so their core duty of safely operating the bus is not compromised. They may advise passengers to stop disruptive behaviour and ask them to alight if they refuse. If a commuter remains uncooperative, drivers can call the operations control centre or the police.

The move follows comments made in Parliament in 2025, when then Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Baey Yam Keng noted that the Government had fewer powers to manage commuter behaviour on buses compared with trains. Parliament later passed new regulations to close that gap, with Senior Minister of State for Transport Murali Pillai saying the rules would take reference from the Rapid Transit Systems Act.

LTA said the priority is to minimise inconvenience to other commuters while ensuring bus services are not disrupted.