Cabbies, PHV drivers can train to become bus drivers from Oct 1

Taxi and private-hire drivers in Singapore can soon train part-time to become bus captains. A new initiative aims to give them more flexibility to transition, while also helping the bus industry attract more local drivers. Training will take between two and six months, and cover emerging skills such as electric vehicle diagnostics. Applications for the programme will start on Oct 1. Those who make the switch will also get a higher starting pay and bigger sign-on bonuses from next year. The move comes as Singapore gears up for several hundred autonomous vehicles in the next two years. Charlotte Lim reports.