Grassroots volunteers will be roped in to manage crowds during unexpected large-scale MRT breakdowns in future.

In a first here, the People's Association (PA) is tapping volunteers from its 18,000-strong Community Emergency Response Team (Cert) to help transport operators during unexpected major rail disruptions and station closures.

About 100 volunteers helped out on each of the two days of planned closures of some East-West Line stations on Jan 21 and 28.

Currently, when a breakdown occurs, rail operators and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) follow a rail incident management plan, with staff from both sides deployed to manage the incident.

Officers wearing the security uniforms of Certis Cisco and Horus Security Consultancy have also been seen helping out.

"However, there cannot be enough 'paid staff' to manage large crowds affected by an unplanned major disruption, especially in the initial period," said a PA spokesman when contacted by The Straits Times. "We believe that instead of bemoaning the situation, it would be more positive and constructive for us to do what we can to help people in need. We do not intend to, nor can we replace SMRT's mitigation measures."

The authorities had previously explored deploying Singapore Armed Forces troops during large-scale breakdowns, but the Defence Ministry said yesterday there are currently no plans to do so.

Recent major disruptions include a flooding incident near Bishan station last October which shut down a stretch of the North-South Line for 20 hours.

The PA spokesman said volunteers had expressed concern that their friends and neighbours might not have heard about the planned closures on the East-West Line, and felt they could do their part to help guide affected commuters.

Cert volunteers were previously deployed to help manage crowds at National Day parades, Formula One races and Chingay parades.

On Sunday, they were seen directing crowds to shuttle buses and alternative modes of transport at the MRT stations from Pasir Ris to Aljunied, alongside LTA officers and SMRT staff. They wore bright yellow safety vests labelled "volunteer".

Hyperlapse of PA's CERT volunteers at Pasir Ris MRT

The move follows a 2015 blog post by Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who wrote about the need to inculcate a "kampung spirit" to respond to rail breakdowns after he saw how various parties worked together during a mock emergency at Changi Airport.

The Straits Times understands that some grassroots leaders have questioned if the use of Cert volunteers is the best use of resources, arguing that rail operators could simply hire more contractors.

Related Story Planned MRT closures: Help at hand for commuters

Related Story No plans to deploy soldiers for rail breakdowns

But transport analysts hailed the move as a positive one, while adding that rail disruptions are not on the same scale as a national emergency or a terror attack.

Transport expert Park Byung Joon said it takes "a national-level organisation" such as the PA to provide sufficient manpower to quickly respond to MRT incidents.

"A large-scale breakdown can affect tens of thousands of commuters," said the Singapore University of Social Sciences academic.

"The manpower that one needs to raise to react to such incidents does not fall from the sky, no matter how much money you throw at the problem to hire more staff."

National University of Singapore transport researcher Lee Der-Horng said such a move makes sense as community volunteers can be mobilised quickly, given their familiarity with the neighbourhood and the fact that they live nearby.

Both experts stressed the importance of proper training for the volunteers so they can provide accurate information.

The LTA spokesman said its officers briefed the volunteers on alternative transport options and free bus services.

One volunteer, technician Joseph Silvaraj, 62, said: "There are commuters who don't know what to do even when it's a planned closure. I hope more people can step forward to volunteer, we could use the help."

SEE HOME

Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we said that PA had 1,800 Cert volunteers. It has 18,000. We are sorry for the error.