English-speaking bus drivers, please
Visually-impaired man needs bus drivers' help to get around
January 29, 2009
HE can see only vague outlines. When he travels on buses, he needs bus drivers to alert him when his stop approaches.
Click to see larger image
UNHAPPY: Visually-impaired, Mr Nair is disconcerted that not all bus drivers understand simple English.
But Mr K Saseedaran Nair was let down twice on the same day, two weeks ago, by bus drivers who failed to alert him about his stop.
The reason: Neither driver spoke English.
Mr Nair, 45, a former mini-mart owner, was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease known as Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy syndrome less than a year ago.
It has severely affected his vision.
He felt helpless when he realised that the driver of the bus he was taking, SMRT Service No 187, did not understand a word he was saying.
He had boarded the bus at Lakeside MRT.
Mr Nair, who speaks English, told the bus driver he wanted to get off at Bukit Batok swimming complex.
But the bus driver, a Chinese national, replied in Chinese.
'I was taken aback that he did not understand even simple, basic English,' said Mr Nair.
After about three minutes, a passenger came forward to help, but the driver could not understand the other passenger either.
The passenger eventually advised Mr Nair to alight and take the next bus instead.
But that bus, which takes the same route, had a Chinese-speaking driver too, while the passenger beside Mr Nair also did not understand English.
Mr Nair then sought the help of two school children sitting in front of him.
He said: 'The driver communicated with them in Chinese when the bus was approaching my stop. They translated it to English for me and I managed to make my way home.'
Although it was the first time he had had such a problem, he felt the issue should be taken seriously by public transport operators.
Mr Nair said: ' People who work in Singapore need to know basic English.'
His concern: In case of an emergency, such as a passenger suffering a heart attack, how will the bus driver be able to assist?
He said: 'We are trying to place Singapore on a high pedestal in the business world, and we have foreigners coming to Singapore.
'But what will they think when they see that the drivers can't speak English?'
A SMRT spokesman said that the company does ensure that both its local and foreign drivers are tested on their English language proficiency.
According to SMRT, its bus drivers from China undergo a training programme that comprises courses in English language and English skills for customer service.
Local applicants must also take a basic English test.
And during an emergency?
The spokesman said: 'During training, they are taught to be proactive and seek help from other passengers if they face a communication problem, for example, if they are not able to understand the language or accent.'
SMRT has been notified about Mr Nair's case and is investigating.
Geraldine Yeo, newsroom intern
Obama's first foreign trip as president: Canada
6 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Barack Obama plans to take his first international trip to Canada.
Transition aides said Saturday that Obama picked the United States' northern neighbor as his first venture outside the country as president. Aides say they could not discuss the date for the trip or its agenda.
A transition official says aides to the president-elect and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper discussed the trip in recent days. But the official says Obama and Harper themselves have not directly discussed the trip.
Obama meets Monday with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, his first in-person meeting with a world leader since winning election.
U.S. presidents typically use Canada as their first international trip.
"It's good news, a sign of the importance of this relationship to both countries. We look forward to hosting the new president," Kory Teneycke, Harper's press secretary, said from Ottawa. "The fact remains that our two countries are very important trading partners to one another, that we are friends and allies."
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