Singapore to issue transport vouchers as fares rise

Singapore has announced plans to provide 600,000 public transport vouchers worth S$30 (US$21) to help lower-income residents cope with rising bus and train fares.

The move comes after the city-state’s Public Transport Council (PTC) decided to increase fares by 2.9 per cent from December in its annual review exercise due to rising energy prices.

The vouchers can be used to top up fare cards or buy monthly concession passes, and will be available to residents earning less than S$1,600 per month.

Speaking at a press conference last week, PTC chairperson Janet Ang said the council had decided on the fare increase to ensure public transport remained affordable while taking into account inflation.

“We deliberated very hard and debated internally how far should we go – because of public transport operations costs – in order to [retain] the quality of service,” she said.

“Amid unprecedented rising costs and economic volatility, the council recognises the imperative to ensure that public transport continues to be reliable, convenient and affordable for Singaporeans.

“We will ensure that public transport remains affordable for commuters, but we seek commuters’ understanding that some fare increase is still necessary to meet rising energy costs, and ensure that we can continue to provide better salaries and training for about 20,000 public-transport workers.”

She added that the council will continue to protect the interest of commuters, especially those who are more vulnerable.

Two stages

The city-state ran a similar voucher scheme in 2019 and 2021.

In the first stage of the 2022 scheme, households that received vouchers during the 2021 exercise and continue to meet the income eligibility criteria will automatically receive a notification letter through the mail by December 2022, without having to apply.

In the second stage, which will start from early 2023, households that meet the income criteria but did not receive a voucher in the first stage can apply for them online or in person at their local community centres or community clubs.

Rising costs

From 26 December, adult fares will increase by 4 cents for journeys of up to 8.2 kilometres, and 5 cents for all other trips.

The increase in concession card fares will be capped at 1 cent per journey to keep fares lower for students, senior citizens, lower-wage workers, and people with disabilities.

There will be no change to the prices of monthly concession passes, adult monthly travel passes and bus cash fares.

The 2.9 percent increase is expected to generate an extra S$50.3 million a year, with SBS Transit Rail and SMRT Trains set to see an increase of S$7.4 million and S$15.4 million in annual revenue respectively.

To cover the increased costs due to the doubling of energy prices and mitigate the impact of fare increases on commuters, the government is providing an additional S$200 million in subsidies in 2023. This is on top of the current subsidies of more than S$2 billion per year to run bus and train services.

“The S$200 million support covers the carried-over quantum of 10.6 percentage points and shields commuters from the brunt of the fare increases, given the cost of living concerns,” the Singaporean Ministry of Transport said in a press release.

Fabio Achilli (Flickr)