SBS Transit bus captain's 25-year journey with passengers leads to heartwarming wedding invitation
Jaden Darrius Png
TNP
March 17, 2025
We all have a bus service that we would take almost every day, but how many of us would invite the driver to a family wedding?
Mr Abdul Lathiff Mohamed Rafi, 52, has worked for SBS Transit for 25 years, and is one of only eight chief bus captains among 5,400 bus drivers.
He has memorised the routes of 52 bus services, including his favourite bus service 65 as it goes almost everywhere in Singapore.
Born and raised in India, Mr Lathiff came to Singapore when he was in his 20s and started working as a cashier at Mustafa Centre.
"I needed a permanent job, then I saw an advertisement in the newspaper for a bus driver job and was selected in the interview. That's how this journey started," he told Tamil Murasu.
He started his career on bus service 282 and was promoted to chief bus captain last year, and is responsible for mentoring other bus captains.
Mr Lathiff has had many fond memories of passengers from his many bus services, including a Malay passenger whom he had seen on the bus for 25 years.
The man invited Mr Lathiff to his son's wedding after the driver and the passenger formed a close friendship.
"Seeing regular passengers every day makes me feel calm. It also increases my sense of duty to drive safely. The passengers are what makes my job enjoyable."
He added that in all these years, he has never felt the need to change jobs as being a bus driver gives him much satisfaction.
Mr Lathiff noted that bus safety has improved greatly over the years due to technological advancements, adding that they are very helpful to drivers.
He is now part of a reserve pool of drivers based at Ulu Pandan Bus Depot, and can be called on to operate any route at short notice, such as when bus drivers call in sick or need time off.
