SINGAPORE: The Public Transport Council (PTC) said on Tuesday (Oct 30) that it will implement the maximum allowable adjustment quantum of 4.3 per cent for bus and train fares starting from Dec 29 – a decision it described as “a delicate balance” between rising operating costs and fare affordability after its annual transport fare review exercise.
For adults using travel cards, the latest adjustments will translate into an increase of 6 cents per journey.
AdvertisementSingle trip tickets for trains and adult cash fares for buses will rise by 10 cents, respectively.
However, card fare increases for students and senior citizens will be capped at 1 cent. The cash fares for these two commuter groups when they travel by bus will remain the same.
Meanwhile, there is no change to the prices of monthly concession passes for students, senior citizens, full-time national servicemen and adults.
Commuters will also continue to enjoy a discount of 50 cents when they enter any MRT or LRT station before 7.45am on weekdays.
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Speaking to reporters, PTC chairman Richard Magnus said the decision to roll out an upward fare adjustment "was not easy".
“We had to balance between the rising costs in public transport, as well as fare affordability on the part of our commuters," he said.
The PTC described the increase as “necessary” in a rising cost environment and as the public transport fare review formula took into account a new component called the network capacity factor (NCF).
The NCF, which measures commuter demand and enhancements and growth in public transport capacity, accounted for 3 per cent in the fare formula – the biggest value among the components.
Other factors that have driven up costs include a 26.2 per cent rebound in energy prices, a 3 per cent increase in the wage index and a 1.5 per cent rise in the core consumer price index. For energy prices, the rebound was the highest since the introduction of the energy index in 2013.
Meanwhile, both rail operators have reported “significant losses”, the PTC said in its news release.
“These cost pressures have also been faced by other cities, which have had to raise fares to keep pace with the operating cost pressures.”
PTC said both rail operators applied for a full fare adjustment of 4.3 per cent.
In the case of SBS Transit, it said its rail operations have been facing “significant cost pressures” since 2013 as a result of operating the Downtown Line. The increase in headcount, as well as salary adjustments needed to attract and retain staff, have led to rising manpower costs.
Similarly, SMRT faced increasing operating costs for its rail operations. In particular, repair and maintenance costs have risen by more than 87 per cent from FY2015 to FY2018, largely due to maintaining and improving the performance of an ageing network.
PTC said the adjustment of 4.3 per cent will bump up fare revenue by about S$78.2 million a year.
Bus fare revenues will increase by about S$43.2 million, which will go toward reducing bus operating subsidies.
The increase in annual revenue for SBS Transit Rail and SMRT Trains will be S$10.9 million and S$24.1 million, respectively.
Both operators, as part of the latest review, will be required to contribute 5 per cent of the expected increase in fare revenue to the Public Transport Fund.
TARGETED ASSISTANCE
In a separate release, the Ministry of Transport said the Government will help to keep fares affordable for lower wage workers and persons with disabilities.
As such, fare increases for both groups will be capped to 1 cent, while the price of the monthly concession pass for persons with disabilities will remain unchanged.
The Government will also continue to extend the lower morning pre-peak rail fare discount of up to 50 cents to these two commuter groups.
The Government will also draw down S$9 million from the Public Transport Fund to provide needy households with 300,000 public transport vouchers. Each voucher is worth S$30 and can be used to purchase or top up fare cards or buy monthly concession passes.
This is the largest public transport voucher exercise to date, said the Transport Ministry in a joint news release with the People’s Association.
Referring to the assistance schemes, Mr Magnus said the PTC remains concerned about fare affordability and has paid “a lot of attention to that” while conducting its annual review exercise.
For instance, PTC looked at the Public Transport Affordability Indicator (PTAI), which measures the percentage of household income spent on public transport.
Since 2007, the average commuter saw their PTAI drop from 2.9 per cent to 1.9 per cent. For the lower-income households, that also saw a drop from 4.1 per cent to 2.7 per cent.
Nevertheless, the issuance of public transport vouchers will help to ensure that commuters from the lower income groups will not be impacted by the fare adjustment, said Mr Magnus.
The PTC chairman also cited surveys done with more than 10,400 commuters between July to August this year, which showed more than seven in 10 found public transport fares in Singapore affordable.
“So we are quite assured hence we made that decision to give the fare cap adjustment of 4.3 per cent,” he said.
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