The Straits Times reported that transport operator SMRT has cast its bus driver recruitment net wider to include part-timers.

It hopes to tap residents who cannot or do not want to work full-time, including housewives, to shore up its driver pool during the morning and evening peak periods.

Asked how many of such flexi-hour drivers it hopes to hire, SMRT Chief Executive Desmond Kuek said, "We want to get as many as we can, because we're facing a shortage."

Successful applicants will be paid between $10 and $12 an hour, a rate which SMRT said is slightly higher than the average earnings of a relief taxi-driver.

In addition, they will be entitled to benefits commensurate with the hours they clock.