SINGAPORE - When eight-year-old Jules Tan was preparing a gift package to express his appreciation for the bus drivers who work long hours to serve commuters, he thought it would be a good idea to include ginger tea his father had bought from China to fuel them with energy.

The Primary 2 pupil said: "Bus drivers only have a little bit of time to sleep, so that is why I gave them the ginger tea to wake them up and make them feel more refreshed."

Jules was among 20 pupils from Montfort Junior School who attended the launch of the third SBS Transit Cares kindness month on Friday (May 4) with gifts they had specially prepared for bus drivers and station staff.

They were accompanied by 35 children from the PAP Community Foundation Sparkletots Pre-school who presented plastic straw cups containing snacks and thank-you messages.

The campaign kicked off at Hougang Bus Interchange and will last until May 31.

A total of about 1,200 students from 40 kindergartens, and primary and secondary schools will be involved in this year's campaign.

The pupils at Hougang Bus Interchange on Friday were joined by parents, teachers, SBS Transit chief executive Gan Juay Kiat and members of its senior management, representatives from the National Transport Workers' Union and Singa - the national courtesy mascot.

"The students put in a lot of effort into preparing all of this and I am very thankful," said Mr Yeo Lung Yeow, 42, a senior bus driver. He added that the campaign has allowed the bus drivers to feel more recognised for their work.

Station staff who did behind-the-scenes work were not forgotten as they also received gifts from the pupils during the celebration.

Mr Mart Lee, 42, duty operations manager at SBS Transit, said: "The smiles that these students have presented to us today are priceless."