S'pore disability advocate, 33, proposes to girlfriend onboard new Tower Transit 'wedding bus', praises accessibility features

Tower Transit Singapore (TTS) celebrated its 10th anniversary today (Jun. 27) by unveiling Singapore’s first-ever wedding bus.

For its very first special event, disability advocate Alister Ong proposed to his girlfriend, Jasmine, amidst decorations by Singaporean design firm Med Karlek.

Ong, 33, lives with cerebral palsy, and is also a public speaker and a board member of the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore.

Proposals and bus rides

The wheelchair-bound Ong proposed to his girlfriend of seven years just in front of TTS's special electric bus.

The new "wedding bus" was bedecked with pastel flowers and quirky decorations like a “priority seat” sign with stylised bride and groom logos, and long ribbons trailing behind the bus.

Ong and Jasmine said that the decision to incorporate a bus into their proposal plan was a straightforward one, as they both recalled the role that buses had played in their relationship.

Over the course of their seven-year relationship, Ong would send Jasmine home on the bus, before making the journey home himself, often catching the last bus to do so.

Jasmine reminisced about the many meaningful conversations they had shared, and how “much of our love story has been intertwined with public transport.”

Accessibility

To mark the occasion, TTS and designer Med Karlek had consulted the couple on the decorations for the bus.

Ong also expressed his thanks to TTS, saying he appreciated that they had made the event very accessible, with the Bulim Depot having several accessibility features such as slopes, ramps, and elevators.

Ong commented that as a wheelchair user, he was “thankful that public transport has been more accessible” over the years, pointing out the wheelchair spaces on buses (where they were speaking to press), as well as ramps on buses which make it easier for him to board and alight.

10 years on the road

The event also saw TTS unveil new bus captain uniforms, mental wellness programmes, and the pilot of a Bus Executive Officer scheme, which combined active bus driving with a supervisory role in operations.

Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow was present to deliver an opening speech, as well as to observe Ong and Jasmine’s proposal.

Siow recalled his time working in the Ministry of Transport as a civil servant between 2012 and 2017, where he saw TTS join Singapore’s transport framework.

Paying tribute to TTS, he credited them for taking “the leap” in partnership with the Singapore government, and for bringing “new thinking to our shores”.

Available for charter

As for Ong and Jasmine's love story, TTS said it would continue to celebrate the occasion with them by sponsoring the official wedding ceremony, which will also take place on the bus.

The wedding bus will soon be made available as part of a two-hour charter service around Singapore, for other couples to celebrate their own weddings.

In addition to floral decor and full bridal livery, the bus also comes with a red carpeted aisle, onboard TV and karaoke system, as well as a collapsible registry table.