In a written parliamentary reply on 23 September 2025, Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow stated that the Ministry of Transport (MOT) has studied the economic implications of disallowing the transportation of workers on the backs of lorries but found it difficult to quantify the impact.
The query was posed by Sengkang Member of Parliament He Ting Ru, who asked whether such studies had been conducted and if the details could be shared.
Siow confirmed that some studies had been undertaken. However, he noted that the impact of a ban would be both direct and indirect, with several factors proving impossible to measure.
For instance, shifting workers entirely to buses would require a significantly larger pool of bus drivers—a sector already facing acute manpower shortages.
The Minister cited ongoing challenges in hiring and retaining drivers, even within the public bus sector, despite multiple wage revisions.
“The crux of the matter is to improve the safety of transportation for our workers,” he emphasised.
He added that the ministry would continue to work with industry associations and tripartite partners to review and improve transport safety.
The government has implemented a series of safety measures in recent years. These include mandating canopies and higher protective railings for lorries, enforcing reduced speed limits, and setting minimum space requirements for passengers in the back.
However, public pressure for a total ban has intensified, particularly following a string of accidents and petitions from healthcare professionals.
One such incident occurred on 1 March 2025, when a lorry carrying migrant workers collided with a car at the junction of Punggol East and Punggol Central. Five workers were hospitalised, and the lorry driver was arrested for dangerous driving.
This came just days after a petition was submitted by over 300 healthcare workers, led by the collective Sick & Tired, calling for an immediate ban on the practice.
The petition directly challenged comments made by Senior Minister of State for Transport Amy Khor, who had earlier cited financial and operational burdens on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and a lack of available bus drivers as key reasons a ban would be impractical.
In their letter, the healthcare workers expressed frustration, citing frequent first-hand experience treating migrant workers injured in lorry accidents. “We too often see migrant workers in the emergency department, intensive care unit, surgical and orthopaedic wards, and sometimes even in mortuaries,” the petition read.
They also pointed to the death of Shohag Mohammad in December 2024, a 40-year-old worker killed in a lorry accident, leaving behind a young daughter. His case was one of several highlighted to stress the human cost of inaction.
Between 2011 and 2020, 58 workers died in road accidents involving lorries, and 4,765 sustained injuries, according to statistics frequently cited by advocacy groups.
In addition to concerns over safety, petitioners raised financial arguments. They questioned why the S$1.1 billion collected in 2020 from foreign worker levies was not being used to subsidise safer transport options such as shared buses or goods-cum-passenger vehicles, which are already in use in other countries.
The pressure has extended beyond the medical community. In 2023, more than 50 community organisations signed a joint statement calling for a ban. This year, student groups also joined the campaign, criticising the continued reliance on lorries as unsafe and undignified for workers.
Although the government has reiterated its commitment to worker safety, critics argue that existing measures fall short.
While lorries may now be fitted with improved safety features, advocacy groups argue that no measure short of a full ban can adequately protect workers in the event of an accident.
In closing his response, Siow reaffirmed that MOT is committed to reviewing transport safety and will provide updates as improvements are identified and implemented.
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