SINGAPORE – SBS Transit bus captain Jiao Junli went above and beyond his job description and became a community responder after an elderly woman lost consciousness on the bus he was driving on June 9, 2023.

The 45-year-old man was driving the 240 bus service along Corporation Road when he noticed a passenger performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the woman.

Mr. Jiao stopped the bus, took over and continued CPR until paramedics arrived and then took the woman to the hospital.

Through the Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF)-SBS Transit AED-on-Buses program, automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) built into 53 public buses can now be used in such emergencies. It was launched on November 8 at Seletar Bus Depot in Yio Chu Kang Crescent.

SBS Transit is the first bus company to join the AED-on-Buses program, which is part of the AED-on-Wheels program launched in November 2015.

This is the seventh collaboration between SCDF and various organizations to equip private and public transport operators with AEDs, sponsored by the Singapore Heart Foundation (SHF).

AED on buses is a critical component of SCDF’s Save Lives Initiative in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, SHF and the Community Association. It aims to promote community first response to cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and increase accessibility to AEDs.

Currently, 56 SBS Transit vehicles (53 public buses and three patrol cars) are equipped with AEDs.

According to SBST, three bus services were chosen because their routes are mostly used by the elderly and cover industrial areas where not many AEDS are accessible.

Nine of the 53 buses are in service, with bus 138 serving between Ang Mo Kio and Singapore Zoo; It serves 268, 17 of which operate around Ang Mo Kio; and 851 are in service, 27 of which operate between Yishun and Bukit Merah. More than 100 bus captains are on AED routes in buses.

Guest of honor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development, said at the launch: “With this initiative, AED accessibility and coverage will be provided to 33,000 bus passengers per day.”

AEDs can be used by SBS Transit bus captains or passengers to resuscitate cardiac arrest victims before SCDF paramedics arrive.

AED-on-Buses also allows members of the public, also known as Community First Responders, to be activated via the myResponder app to highlight the location of nearby AEDs.