SINGAPORE - Bus and train fares will go up by 7 per cent from Dec 28, the Public Transport Council (PTC) announced on Tuesday (Oct 8), the maximum allowable increase under this year’s fare review exercise.
This will translate into an increase of nine cents per journey for adult commuters who use travel cards.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThose paying using cash on buses, or who purchase single-trip tickets for train rides, will see a steeper increase of 20 cents per trip.
The cost of monthly concession passes will go up by between S$1 and S$5.50, while adult monthly travel passes will go up by S$8.
Concession groups - such as students, senior citizens and those with disabilities - will see a 4 cent increase per journey.
This increase is based on the current fare adjustment formula - which came into place last year - which takes into account factors such as energy prices and inflation.
AdvertisementAdvertisementSpeaking to reporters, PTC chairman Richard Magnus noted the costs of running public transport have increased, largely due to a worldwide rise in energy prices as well as manpower wages.
He said that both SMRT and SBS Transit had incurred losses on their rail operations.
SMRT Trains reported a net loss of S$155 million for the financial year ending in March, while SBS Transit has reported losses of S$125 million for the Downtown Line over the past three years, while its train division has lost "tens of millions of dollars" in the last financial year.
Both companies had applied for the 7 per cent rise, citing increasing costs due to expenses such as maintenance and the introduction of new rail lines.
The Government subsidises about S$1 billion per year for the upgrading of rail assets, and another S$1 billion to subsidise bus operations.
“Running a reliable public transport system is costly, and we have to strive towards a more sustainable financing model,” said Mr Magnus, adding the adjustments would allow fare revenue to increase by about S$132.5 million.
STUDENT CONCESSIONS FOR DIPLOMA STUDENTS, VOUCHERS FOR LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS
Besides financial sustainability, he noted the PTC also considers the affordability of fares and sought an “equitable and delicate balance” between the two for this year’s review.
As such concession fare increases were capped at 4 per cent.
Meanwhile full-time polytechnic and diploma students, who currently pay adult fares and number around 80,000, will now enjoy student concessions.
This translates into fare savings of up to S$1.54 per trip for these students.
Both SMRT and SBS Transit will also be required to contribute S$3.89 million to the Public Transport Fund.
This will allow 450,000 public transport vouchers to be made available to help lower-income households cope with the fare increase.
All households with a per capita income of no more than S$1,200 per month - or about one in every five households here - will qualify for the vouchers.
Households can apply for the vouchers - which can be used to purchase or top up fare cards, as well as buy monthly concession passes - at community centres and clubs (CCs) from Nov 11 this year to Oct 31 next year.
Those who require more help can apply for additional vouchers through the CCs, which will assess these applications on a case-by-case basis.
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