S'pore commuters who blast loud audio, put feet on bus seats can be fined up to S$500 from Sep. 23

From Sep. 23, it will be an offence to make a nuisance and behave disruptively on public buses and at bus interchanges and terminals.

Such behaviour includes placing one’s feet on bus seats, or playing audio at loud volume, littering, eating, or drinking onboard buses, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in a Sep. 21 news release.

Those caught committing these offences may be fined up to S$500.

The penalty can go up to S$5,000 for more serious offences such as causing obstruction or danger to fellow commuters within bus interchanges and terminals, or the soiling of any part of a public bus, bus interchange, or terminal.

Positive commuter conduct

It was first announced that the government would introduce penalties against disruptive behaviour on public transport when the Transport Sector (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2025 was passed in Parliament in October 2025.

The new rules fall under the new Bus Services Industry (Control of Conduct and Activities – Public Bus) Regulations 2026 and Bus Services Industry (Control of Conduct and Activities – Bus Interchange) Regulations 2026.

The aim of these new regulations is to encourage positive commuter conduct on public buses and at bus interchanges and terminals.

They align with existing regulations that prohibit disruptive behaviour within the MRT network.

They will "foster a safer, more considerate, and pleasant public transport environment for all", LTA said in their news release.

Enforcement

In managing disruptive behaviour on buses, the priority is to minimise inconvenience to other commuters while ensuring that the bus service does not get disrupted, LTA explained.

Staff from the four public bus operators, such as ticket inspectors and bus interchange staff, may issue Administrative Notifications of Offences (Administrative NOO) to people they believe are committing an offence.

LTA will follow up with investigations afterwards.

Bus captains will not have the authority to issue an Administrative NOO, so that it will not affect their main duty of safely operating the bus.

But they can advise passengers to stop making a nuisance or behaving disruptively, under the Conditions of Carriage.

They can also request passengers who fail to comply to alight from the bus.

If a passenger still refuses to cooperate, bus captains can request help from the Bus Operations Control Centre or the police if necessary.

LTA and the public bus operators will continue to exercise discretion and fairness in managing inconsiderate commuters, LTA said.

This is especially for cases involving commuters with physical or mental health conditions