Bus, train fares to be cut by up to 27 cents from Dec 30

SINGAPORE — Come Dec 30, bus and train fares will be slashed by 4.2 per cent — which means a reduction of one to 27 cents for commuters paying with farecards — and by a further 1.5 per cent at the end of 2017, said the Public Transport Council (PTC) on Thursday (Oct 27), citing falling energy prices as the key driver behind the cuts.

And for commuters perplexed by the difference in rail fares, sometimes for seemingly similar distances, some could see fares go down further, with the introduction of distance-based fares for rail travel. Fares on fully-underground rail lines — North-East Line (NEL), Circle Line (CCL) and Downtown Line (DTL) — will also be lowered to match that of above-ground rail lines, a difference that currently ranges from 4 to 25 cents.

The fare review exercise by the PTC this year had allowed for a maximum 5.7 per cent cut in transport fares, the biggest since 2009. It is calculated using a formula that is valid until the end of next year, pegged to changes in the Core Consumer Price Index, the Wage Index and the Energy Index over the preceding year. The Energy Index, derived from changes in electricity and diesel cost, plunged 35.8 per cent last year.

The 4.2 per cent reduction this year means that adult fares will fall by 1 to 27 cents, while fares for senior citizens will go down by 1 to 7 cents.

The cut also works out to a fare revenue loss of about S$79 million a year. The Land Transport Authority, which owns the bus assets and collects the fares, will bear the biggest share of S$35.6 million, followed closely by SMRT (S$34.6 million), and SBS Transit (S$8.9 million).

The 5.7 per cent reduction in fares was split into two phases to ensure sustainability, said the council. "Because next year, we’re not sure what’s going to happen. The economy is suffering from some challenges and oil prices are quite volatile. So, we want to be able to carry that through to sustain our public transport system," said PTC chairman Richard Magnus at a media briefing on Thursday.

As for the simplification of rail fare structure — which will also kick in on Dec 30 — the council said the aim was remove the "fare exceptions" that has resulted in fare differences for commuters. Currently, of the over 11,000 pairs of origin and destination stations, 1,500 pairs have fare exceptions.

On the NEL, CCL and DTL, fares are slightly higher because of the higher costs of operating fully underground lines, such as from running air-conditioned platforms. This differentiation was introduced in 2003, when the NEL was launched.

Also, rail fares are currently determined by the fastest travel path between origin and destination stations, which includes waiting and walking time and may not always mean the shortest distance travelled. This is unlike bus fares, which have been calculated based on distance since 2010.

The expansion of the rail and bus services could further complicate the issue, Mr Magnus said. "We thought it’s a good opportunity now, with the large fare reduction, to effect a major change in our transport system framework," he added.

With the changes, the Land Transport Authority said fare exceptions will remain for eight station pairs partly due to technical issues: Queenstown–Orchard, Redhill–Khatib, Redhill–Toa Payoh, Redhill–Bishan, Expo–Aljunied, Khatib–Toa Payoh, Khatib–Bishan, and Toa Payoh–Bishan. But fares will be lowered for these commuters by other means, while the PTC works towards eliminating them in future fare exercises, the council said.

SMRT and SBST had both applied for fare adjustments at the launch of the fare review exercises, but the PTC on Thursday declined to reveal whether the operators had wanted to raise fares. When contacted, both operators acknowledged the PTC’s decision without elaborating.

Separately, the Transport Ministry announced on Thursday that fares for lower-wage workers and people with disabilities will be reduced.

Taking effect from Dec 30 as well, concessionary card fares for lower-wage workers are set to go down by 1 to 25 cents, while those with disabilities will enjoy fare reductions of 1 to 7 cents.