SINGAPORE - When it rains, bus commuters often make a quick dash for the bus entrance and get wet if they do not have an umbrella or there is no overhead shelter.

But on Thursday evening (Sept 20), some passengers of SBS Transit service 59 got a welcome surprise - one of the service's bus captains sheltered them as they boarded the bus during a heavy downpour.

For bus captain Pang Yee Pau's kind deed, SBS will be recognising him at an upcoming award ceremony.

Mr Pang's actions were captured in a photo submitted to citizen journalism site Stomp.

At a bus stop in Tampines Avenue 1 at around 7pm on Thursday, Mr Pang was seen getting out of his seat, leaning out into the rain and using an umbrella to shelter passengers who were trying to board the bus.

The person who took the photograph told Stomp: "He did this for every single passenger."

The Stomp contributor, who said what Mr Pang did was a "good job", said that the bus captain also sheltered four or five alighting passengers.

Ms Tammy Tan, SBS Transit's senior vice-president of corporate communications, told The Straits Times on Friday that the company was proud of what Mr Pang did.

Ms Tan said: "We are extremely heartened by the actions of bus captain Pang who took the initiative and went the extra mile for our commuters.

"We will be recognising his efforts at our upcoming Cares award ceremony. His actions also reaffirm that we are on the right track in our customer service training for our bus captains."

Earlier in January, another SBS bus captain made headlines when he was filmed successfully intervening in a fight between two men on a bus.

The bus captain in that incident managed to separate the two men, who quietened down afterwards. The journey was able to continue.