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The Public Transport Council (PTC) has decided to grant an overall net fare adjustment of 1.0%, an amount significantly less than the 2.8% cap allowed under the fare formula for 2011.
Key Points
With effect from 8 October 2011, adult card fares for buses and trains will increase by 2 cents per journey. Senior citizen concessionary card fares will increase by 1 cent per journey. There will be no change to child/student concessionary card fares.
Cash fares for adult bus and train rides will increase by 10 cents per trip across-the-board. However, there will be no change to senior citizen and child/student cash fares. Commuters are encouraged to use contactless smartcards, instead of paying cash fares, to enjoy lower fares for travel on public transport.
In addition, the PTC welcomes the operators’ decision to extend senior citizen concession hours to full-day throughout the week. The fares for senior citizens on North-East Line (NEL) and Circle Line (CCL) will also be adjusted downwards so that their differentiated fares are 4 cents more than those on North-South and East-West Lines over equivalent distances, instead of the existing fare difference ranging from 4 to 19 cents.
An estimated 4 in 10 senior citizens will see fare savings due to the above changes. There are no changes to the prices of all student/NSF monthly concession passes.
Overall, the average fare increase translates to about $0.15 a week (or about $8 a year) for the 85% of the commuters1 who would see a fare increase.
To further ensure that commuters’ interests are safeguarded, the PTC also made a reality check on the operators’ ROTA (Return on Total Assets) against companies with similar industry structures and risk profiles.
When CCL 4 & 5 (from Marymount to HarbourFront stations) open on 8 October 2011, train commuters will see fare and time savings for various origin and destination stations.
To achieve a better distribution of the morning peak loading on its trains, SMRT has decided to enhance its current discount scheme3 for morning travel on SMRT trains. From 8 October 2011, the current 10-cent discount will be tripled to 30 cents4 for commuters who exit from designated stations within the city area. The eligible timing for this discount will also be extended from before 7.30am by another 15 minutes to 7.45 am.
In addition, SMRT has committed to conduct joint trials with the LTA on demand management measures to incentivise commuters to shift their travel times away from the peak periods.
For complete information, download the press release
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