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Singapore’s Public Transportation fares will increase by 2.2% from December 26, 2021.
Following the annual fare revision exercise of Public Transport Council (PTC), it highlighted an increase of 3 to 4 cents for adults who pay their fares by card. A one-cent increase in concessionary fares for seniors, students, people with disabilities, and low-wage workers will take effect. PTC added that the prices for cash fares, single trip tickets, monthly concessions, and monthly travel passes will remain unchanged.
To illustrate, adult fares for journeys of up to 14.2 kilometers will bump up by 3 cents. This covers about 75% of public transportation journeys taken by adults in Singapore. Adult fares covering a distance of more than 14.2 kilometers will increase by 4 cents.
PREVIOUS DROP IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT RIDERSHIP CONTRIBUTED TO PRICE HIKE
“We seek commuters’ understanding that it is not possible to keep deferring fare increases as they are needed to support the rising operating costs, such as energy and wages, for our public transport system,” said Public Transport Council Chairman Richard Magnus. He stated that “lower fare revenue with higher operational costs cannot continue indefinitely.”
While PTC acknowledges that the Singaporeans are facing difficult economic circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s fare review was primarily considered due to the sharp drop in public transport ridership last year.
Public transport ridership plunged to 25% of pre-pandemic levels during the Circuit Breaker period. This is due to the restrictions and the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the whole of 2020, the average daily ridership for trains and buses decreased by 40% and 30% respectively. Despite the decreasing numbers in public transport ridership, the public transport operators were operating largely at the pre-pandemic frequencies. Simply put, there was more supply than demand.
EXTRA COSTS OF RUNNING THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICES AMIDST PANDEMIC
The PTC said that the public transport operators incurred a few million dollars in costs last year from cleaning and disinfection regimes as well as the deployment of staff. These measures were employed to ensure public’s safety on the ground.
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Both SBS Transit and SMRT have asked for the full 2.2% fare adjustment. PTC decided to grant the full 2.2% increase to help mitigate the rising costs of running public transport services. In particular, the energy prices have risen to over 30% for the first half of this year.
PROJECTED REVENUE AFTER THIS YEAR’S FARE HIKE
According to PTC, this year’s fare hike will help mitigate the costs of running public transport services. It translates to a $34.2 million rise in fare revenue collected by the Government per year and an increase in annual revenue for SBS Transit and SMRT. PTC stated that the increase in annual revenue for the two operators translates to $4.6 million and $10 million, respectively.
The two operators will contribute approximately $2.23 million to the Public Transport Fund, to share their gains with the commuters. The Government will tap this fund to give out 600,000 public transport vouchers worth $30 each to aid households to cope with fare increase. This is the largest number of public transport vouchers issued to date.
Take note of these changes as it will take effect on December 26.
Image Credits: Public Transport Council
