Is Singapore wheelchair accessible?

Recently my wife fractured her foot. And while Singapore has long prided itself on being accessible, this gave us the opportunity to put it to the test. In this guide I’m going to share about our experiences with Singapore’s disability access, including places that are easy and difficult to access in a wheelchair, to help visitors to Singapore determine how accessible the country is.

In general, Singapore has strong requirements for public infrastructure and buildings to be wheelchair accessible and disability friendly. This means that ramp and elevator access is widely available across the city, particularly in more modern buildings. Wheelchair users may face challenges in older parts of the city where restaurants and shops tend to crowd the limited footpath space.

Overall we found Singapore mostly wheelchair friendly. Trains, buses, buildings, and Changi Airport are all very wheelchair friendly, however there were some challenges navigating footpaths in older parts of the city. Singaporean people were very friendly, and happy to offer directions and assistance any time we asked.

I’ve also included some recommendations of places to go if you’re in a wheelchair, and some places to avoid, at the end of this article.

Wheelchair accessibility for Singapore MRT

The Singapore train system is very modern and therefore wheelchair accessible.

Station entrances are fitted with ramps and elevators. Be careful though as not every entrance to a station will have an elevator; you may need to hunt around for a different station entrance to find the elevator.

Ticket gates have a wide barrier option which is designed for wheelchair use. Tap your card to enter and the barrier will stay open for longer to allow a wheelchair through.

Boarding the train, trains stop in the same location to align with the platform doors. There are designated doors for wheelchair access where the wheels will not get stuck in the gap between the train and the platform.

Alighting from trains, every door opens at every station, so alighting from the train is the same as boarding. There are no attendants to assist or delay the door cycle for you though, so do not delay alighting from the train.

In my experience of moving my wife around, it was sometimes tough to find an elevator. Some popular and convenient station entrances - particularly on the older north-south and east-west lines have stairs and no ramp or elevator. However we did find the buses very helpful.

Wheelchair accessibility for Singapore buses

Every Singapore public bus I’ve ever ridden is wheelchair accessible. As are all the bus stops I’ve used (technically, some of them can still be a bit tough for wheelchair users to access).

Bus stops are nearly all wheelchair accessible, at least in the sense that if there are stairs to access them, there is also a ramp. In practice, I’ve found some bus stops that can be narrow in crowded areas - particularly around Geylang (see below, Geylang in general isn’t very wheelchair friendly).

Boarding the bus, the Singapore bus fleet is modern and equipped with variable height suspension allowing the bus to be lowered closer to the curb when it stops. There is also a ramp that the driver will deploy to help wheelchair users board. Tap your card or pay cash as you get on board.

Alighting from the bus, many buses are equipped with a blue button that sounds a different type of alarm when pressed indicating assistance is required to alight from the bus. If the bus doesn’t have this, it’s easy to signal to the driver when it’s your stop. Many drivers will ask you which stop you want to get off at when you first get on so that they have an idea of when they need to help you alight.

Wheelchair accessibility for Singapore footpaths and streets

Most footpaths in Singapore are step-free, or have ramp access nearby. There are two situations I’ve found where this is not the case though:

Older parts of town do not always have step free access along the shortest routes. There are a few areas - one of the paths I used to walk down in Tanjong Pagar for instance - where steps are present and the only step-free option is a long journey around to the other side of a building. Some areas also have crowded shops and restaurants spilling out onto the street making it difficult to navigate a wheelchair along (such as Geylang).

High curb footpaths due to drainage also do not always have step free access. I don’t often see this though, and usually not in areas that visitors would be frequenting. Singapore has a fairly well designed flood management system, and unfortunately this has meant the use of high footpaths in some areas that can be challenging to navigate in a wheelchair. Modern design standards ensure wheelchair access, but historically this might not always be available.

Some of my favourite places to recommend to tourists are very wheelchair friendly, including:

• Singapore river - wheelchair friendly access with ramps and wide paths along its length
• Fort canning park - one of my favourite parks nestled in the middle of the city, step-free paths wind their way around the old fort allowing wheelchair users to climb to the tob
• Botanic gardens - step-free access available to much of the gardens.

Most overhead pedestrian crossings have an elevator (even if it is tucked away in a building next to the crossing) but not all. Overhead bridge crossings without an elevator usually have a traffic light crossing nearby instead.

Wheelchair accessibility at Changi Airport

As one of the world’s leading airports, Changi is of course very wheelchair accessible. Staff can help you with check in, passport control, and security screening. Everyone I’ve experienced at Changi is very friendly as well.

Food and airport lounges are located on a different floor, however elevator access is very convenient.

Walkways and corridors are wide with plenty of space to manoeuvre a wheelchair around. There is also plenty of space in the dining area for wheelchair access.

Watchout in parts of Terminal 2 though, as when I was last there it was very difficult to navigate wheels along some stretches of carpet. The terminal is undergoing renovations though and hopefully this will be improved soon.

Changi Airport publishes a guide on how to navigate every part of the airport journey (transport to/from, check in, security screening etc.) on their website, check it out here.

Overall we never had a real problem getting around Changi airport.

Wheelchair accessibility for Singapore buildings

Nearly every building I’ve been in in Singapore is wheelchair accessible. All new buildings are designed to modern standards for wheelchair accessibility.

The only challenge we had was that in some older buildings it can be difficult to find the elevator. There was always an elevator available, but sometimes it can be hidden in the corner of a building. Most visitors are unlikely to spend much time in these older buildings though.

Where wheelchair users will find Singapore challenging

I’ve found older parts of Singapore to be a bit challenging if you’re in a wheelchair.

Shophouse areas can be difficult to navigate in a wheelchair. This is particularly the case in restaurant shophouse areas, as many restaurants will use part of the footpath to seat guests. These footpaths may also have steps. Some examples of places I’ve found challenging include Geylang, Chinatown, and parts of Joo Chiat road.

Where to go in Singapore that is wheelchair friendly

Singapore Tourism Board provides a helpful list of wheelchair-friendly attractions, and I’ve added my own to give a more complete list:

• Merlion
• Gardens by the Bay
• Singapore Zoo
• Botanic Gardens
• Fort Canning Park
• Marina Bay Sands Skydeck
• Orchard road shopping malls

If it’s you’re first time visiting Singapore, my top recommendations on this list would probably be Gardens by the Bay, the Merlion, and the Botanic Gardens.

References

Apart from my own experience navigating my injured wife around Singapore, I also wrote this article thanks to the following resources:

• Singapore Tourism Board’s publication about wheelchair-friendly attractions
• SBS Transit - one of the largest bus operators in Singapore - lists on their website bus services and stops that are NOT wheelchair friendly; using the search function, every route that I searched was 100% wheelchair friendly
• SMRT - the largest train service operator - also has a guide to using their trains in a wheelchair
• Changi Airport guide to access for people with reduced mobility