SMRT celebrates the launch of Adopt-a-Station pilot programme between Maris Stella High School and Bartley Station

Some 80 primary school students and teachers from Maris Stella High School descended upon Bartley Station on 18 September to celebrate the launch of Adopt-A-Station, an SMRT Corporation Ltd. (SMRT) community outreach programme that partners local schools to encourage gracious commuting experience. 

A new community initiative, schools that adopt an SMRT station will receive exclusive sessions to better understand station operations. Their students will also be given training to become SMRT Student Service Ambassadors. These ambassadors will train with SMRT mentors so they can assist with general enquiries, help passengers at the General Ticketing Machine, promote general safety, and assist in platform duties such as crowd management and caring for passengers with special needs. Working closely with schools, these Student Service Ambassadors may be placed on duty at SMRT stations or bus interchanges at special school or national occasions. Maris Stella High School for example, has plans to deploy their ambassadors in upcoming large scale national education events such as the NE (National Education) shows, with their students’ participation counting towards their ‘community involvement programme’ (CIP) hours. 

Schools that adopt an SMRT station will also play a proactive role in bringing the neighbourhood and school’s culture to life at the station. Over the next few months, the programme will include Maris Stella High School students participating in a series of customised activities, such as creating publicity materials that encourage good travel behaviour, live performances, as well as designing wall murals at the station. Students may also get an opportunity to look behind-the-scenes at our Learning Journey programme where they will experience train and bus operations and tours at SMRT depots. Schools can approach SMRT to tailor the programme to align with their learning and co-curricular objectives.

“We approached SMRT early this year after a series of well-received collaborations with them for Total Defence Day. Over the past few months, we have built up a solid partnership with SMRT. We have set up a task force, organised a review of the operations as well as training materials and logistical requirements and we are prepared to take this programme until 2015,” said Miss Noradlina, Subject Head of Character and Citizenship Education at Maris Stella High School.

Mr. Chia Chun Wah, Vice President, Circle Line, SMRT Trains said, “As a leading public transport operator, SMRT believes in moving people and enhancing lives through meaningful engagement with our community. SMRT stations play a role in connecting the Bartley area to the rest of Singapore, and we hope the Adopt-A-Station programme can likewise build a sense of belonging and ownership between students and their neighbourhood. At the same time, we hope to create an enjoyable commuting experience through courteous, positive interaction between students and the broader commuting public. SMRT hopes to foster strong ties with the local communities through our stations across the island. We encourage schools to come forward and embark on this journey with us”.

For more information on the SMRT Adopt-A-Station programme, please email Shariffah Faizah Bin Syed Ibrahim at corpcomms@smrt.com.sg with subject header ‘Adopt-A-Station’.