Public transportation fares are set to increase in December, from the 28th.
Adult commuters will see a 10-cent hike per trip on buses and trains while students, seniors, and those with disabilities will pay 4 cents more per journey.
Monthly passes remain unchanged.
Overall fares will rise 6%, down from 7% last year.
The good news is that lower-income households can get $60 transit vouchers, up from $50 last year.
More people now qualify for the vouchers, with the monthly income limit per person increasing to $1,800 from $1,600.
This means an additional 60,000 households will benefit from the vouchers.
Why the increase?
Regulator PTC cited inflation, wage growth, and past deferred increases as reasons for the hike.
While energy prices dropped from 2022 peaks, core inflation and strong wage growth factored into the 3.3% increase under PTC’s formula.
An additional 15.6% was deferred from prior years, allowing for up to 18.9% in total.
However, PTC chose a more modest 6% to cushion costs for commuters.
Chairperson Janet Ang noted the deferred amount accumulated due to spiking energy prices and inflation in 2021 to 2022.
This marks the second review under PTC’s new formula aimed at stabilizing fares.
The nitty gritty
Singapore’s public transport fare formula has five components: core consumer price index (cCPI), wage index (WI), energy index (EI), productivity, and network capacity.
For 2023 to 2027, productivity and capacity factors now have fixed values for stability.
Productivity contribution is minus 0.1%, while network capacity is 1.1%.
This year, the indexes increased cCPI by 2.1%, WI by 2.1%, and EI dropped 1.9%.
With fixed productivity and capacity, fares can rise by 3.3%.
Adding the 15.6% carried-over allows an 18.9% maximum increase.
However, the Public Transport Council approved only a 6% hike, leaving 12.9% for next year/future reviews.
Finding a win-win solution for all
The upcoming 6% fare increase will lower the deferred amount to 12.9% for the next review.
This helps narrow the gap between cost and fares, said Ms. Ang from the PTC, adding that the PTC will balance financial sustainability with affordability.
Meanwhile, the PTC encourages monthly passes to cap expenses.
Extended concession fares for graduating students
In addition to the abovementioned news, starting 28 December 2024, graduating students in Singapore can continue enjoying discounted transit fares for four months after finishing school.
Currently, secondary and post-secondary students receive concession fares.
However, some faced paying full price before enrolling in another school.
In response to parent and student feedback, our Transport Minister requested the PTC to extend fares.
PTC agreed to the request, granting graduating students concessions for four months post-graduation, which will start this year.
Around 75,000 students annually will benefit.
To extend validations, this year’s graduates can tap cards at any ticketing machines located in MRT or bus stations from 1 October to 31 December 2024.
They can also visit a ticketing counter for more assistance.
Future graduating classes will get extension details from their schools.