PUBLISHED ONJune 12, 2026 6:10 AMBYEsther LamA routine journey home turned into an extra two-hour ordeal for a son with autism, prompting his mother to urge bus drivers to 'slow down' at a bus stop opposite Siglap MRT station.
Facebook user Brenda Tan shared a post on Tuesday (June 9) about the incident, requesting bus captains plying the route opposite Siglap MRT station to give travellers with autism a little extra time to process and react when flagging for the bus from 5pm to 6pm.
St. Andrew's Autism Centre is located in the vicinity.
"It could make their journeys a little smoother and less stressful," she wrote.
Tan told AsiaOne that her son, who left the centre at 5pm, returned home two hours later than usual that day — his journey home usually takes about an hour and a half.
Noticing that her son's location was still at the bus stop at 6pm, Tan called him on his tracker watch and reminded him to flag down the bus.
She also contacted his job coach to ask if any staff member could assist, but found that most teachers were on leave due to the school holidays.
She took a taxi at 7pm to the bus stop to fetch him, but he was not there — his location indicated he had just boarded a bus.
Her husband eventually picked him up at the bus stop near their home, and Tan arrived a few minutes ahead of her son; by then, it was nearly 9pm, and he had calmed down.
After a shower and dinner, her son completed his journal, where he was asked to include a reminder to flag for the bus, before going to bed. Tan added that her son's job coach said she would train him again on flagging down buses.
Responding to her post, Facebook user Nicholas Lim, an employee of Go-Ahead Singapore, assured Tan that he would remind the Service 43 bus captain to slow down when arriving at the stop opposite Siglap MRT Station at the requested time.
In response to AsiaOne's queries, Go-Ahead Singapore confirmed it is aware of the incident and that the customer service team has been in contact with Tan to address her concerns.
Bus captains operating bus Service 43 have been reminded to be "more attentive" and advised to slow down when approaching the bus stop to allow sufficient time for commuters to react and signal intention to board, the company said.
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