SINGAPORE – Each train and bus ride will cost adults who pay by card 10 cents more from Dec 28, as public transport fares climb by 6 per cent.

Concessionary fares for seniors, students, people with disabilities and low-wage workers who pay by card will rise by four cents per journey, the Public Transport Council (PTC) said on Sept 9 after its yearly review of train and bus fares. About two million commuters are in this group.

The fare changes mean that an adult passenger taking the MRT from Tampines to Raffles Place will pay $2.02 from Dec 28, up from $1.92 now.

In 2023, fares went up by 7 per cent, or up to 11 cents, for adults who pay by card. The 11-cent hike is the highest on record.

Fares rose by 2.9 per cent in 2022 and 2.2 per cent in 2021. In 2020, there was a freeze on fares to help the public cope with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

PTC, which regulates fares and ticket payment services, said the 6 per cent rise is less than a third of the allowable increase of 18.9 per cent for 2024.

This comprises a 3.3 per cent adjustment for 2024 and a 15.6 per cent hike deferred from the 2023 exercise.

The 2024 adjustment was driven by growth in core inflation and wages in 2023, but was moderated partially by an 18.6 per cent drop in energy prices from their peak in 2022, said the council.

PTC said it understands that the cost of living remains a concern for Singaporeans, and it decided to grant the 6 per cent hike to “cushion commuters from the full fare increase”.

The remaining increase of 12.9 per cent will be rolled over to future fare review exercises.

The council was asked at a press conference on Sept 9 why it did not allow more of the deferred hike from the previous exercise to be cleared in this round.

The council’s chairwoman Janet Ang said the increase for 2024 was deemed to be manageable for passengers, adding: “PTC’s mission must be to balance affordability, and reduce the gap between fares and costs.”

The council said the Government will provide an extra $250 million in subsidies to cover this deferred increase.

This is in addition to the more than $2 billion in subsidies it pumps in yearly to keep public transport services running, and extra funding of up to $900 million that will be spent over the next eight years to improve the bus network under the new Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme.

“The additional government subsidy will help to moderate the fare increase while still accounting for the higher costs of providing public transport,” said PTC.

There will be no change to fares paid in cash on buses. Less than 1 per cent of public transport rides are paid for in cash.

The cost of adult monthly travel passes and monthly concession passes will remain unchanged too, to help heavy public transport users cap their expenses, PTC added.

The council said operators SBS Transit Rail and SMRT Trains had applied for the full 18.9 per cent hike in 2024, citing reasons such as cost pressures arising from inflation and higher labour costs to keep salaries competitive.

In line with the 2024 fare increase, PTC said it would require SBS Transit Rail to contribute 15 per cent of its expected revenue increase, or $3.05 million, to the Public Transport Fund, which helps households cope with fare increases.

SMRT Trains will contribute 25 per cent of the same, or $9.96 million.

To help defray the fare increases, the Ministry of Transport and the People’s Association said the Government will provide public transport vouchers worth $60 each to resident households with a monthly income of up to $1,800 per person. Each household will get one voucher.

This is higher than the vouchers worth $50 each given out in the previous round to households with a monthly income of up to $1,600 per person.

The higher income eligibility criterion for the vouchers will benefit an extra 60,000 households. The vouchers can be used to top up fare cards or buy monthly passes, and will be given out in two stages.

Households that received a voucher in the 2023 exercise and continue to qualify will receive a voucher automatically. They will be notified by the end of December.

Households that qualify but do not receive a voucher in the first stage can apply for one online or at community clubs from early 2025. More information on the application process will be made public later.

PTC said households in the 21st to 40th percentile – the average public transport user – spent an average of 1.7 per cent of their monthly income on public transport in 2023, compared with 1.8 per cent in 2021.

Lower-income households in the 11th to 20th percentile, meanwhile, spent about 2.4 per cent of their income on public transport in 2023, down from 2.5 per cent in 2021.

After taking the latest fare and wage increases into account, the share of public transport expenses as a proportion of monthly income for these households will remain similar to that of 2023, said the council.

Public transport users said they expected fares to go up, as has been the case in recent years.

Business consultant Albert Kwan, 39, said this is somewhat justified, given that there are more MRT lines being introduced, and overall public transport connectivity has improved.

Partnerships director Alka Solanki, 52, said the fare increase means an extra 80 cents a day for her family of four, but “it is not going to break my bank”.

“It is acceptable given that there are improvements in MRT connectivity,” she added.

Retired real estate consultant James Tan, 66, said service levels should improve in tandem with fare increases.

Customer success executive Zoey Tan, 35, who now qualifies for a concessionary card for low-wage workers, said fares will become pricier when she changes her job and no longer qualifies for lower fares.

Transport economist Walter Theseira said the cost of operating public transport services has been rising faster than the fare increases that PTC has allowed.

“I expect PTC is also hoping that moderate inflation will give a bit of breathing room in the next few years to spread out the deferred increase,” said Associate Professor Theseira.

• Additional reporting by Esther Loi and Fatmah Khan