Free MRT rides for early birds extended to June next year

SINGAPORE — Despite the proportion of commuters moving to travel during morning off-peak hours stagnating at 7 per cent, the authorities are extending the free travel initiative for the third year running. 

More than 65,000 commuters now benefit daily from the Free Pre-Peak Travel scheme, which offers free or discounted rail travel for those going to selected stations in and around the central business district during morning pre-peak hours. 

Describing the 7 per cent shift as “sustained”, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said the extension of the scheme would continue to support this initiative.

Speaking at Travel Smart Day at Asia Square on Thursday (June 23), Senior Minister of State (Transport) Josephine Teo acknowledged that rail ridership has grown, and the number of commuters during peak hours has increased as well. “But we have seen ... just as many more decide that they would travel outside of the peak period even as ridership has grown,” she said. 

She also noted that the monthly Off-Peak Pass, which allows unlimited travel on rail and basic bus services during designated off-peak hours, sees 13,000 users each month.

The average daily rail ridership was 2,879,000 trips last year, up 4 per cent from 2,762,000 in 2014, and up 9.8 per cent from 2,623,000 in 2013. 

The scheme, which has been extended till June 30 next year, was launched in 2013, and the authorities had aimed for a shift of between 10 and 20 per cent. 

Transport analysts, noting the difficulty in getting commuters to change their travel habits, said tweaks to companies’ working culture, such as offering flexible work arrangements, could help to increase ridership during pre-peak hours.

Dr Walter Theseira, a senior lecturer at SIM University, said: “Without such flexibility, commuters will not find it practical to give up their personal time to arrive at work early, while still having to leave the office at the same time.”

Agreeing, transport consultant Gopinath Menon, who described the target of up to 20 per cent as “ambitious”, said it requires a “national effort”, and the Government could not do it alone. But the scheme could be extended to more MRT stations, such as Jurong East, as it is “more or less the second regional centre”. 

He also noted that while the scheme is limited to rail travel, many public transport trips to the city are by bus, “and this is no incentive to them”.

National University of Singapore transport researcher Lee Der-Horng, noting that the shift towards pre-peak travel has not budged from 7 per cent, said free rail travel “may be diminishing” as an incentive, and suggested free bus connections be provided.

To reach a “critical mass”, the Government could also target companies by clusters, to get more on board. 

The LTA’s Travel Smart Network, which began in 2014, provides funding to organisations for initiatives that encourage employees to commute during off-peak periods, and use alternative modes of transport such as walking and cycling. 

From 60 companies and 160,000 employees in July last year, more than 100 companies with over 240,000 employees are now in the network. 

Among the companies on the Travel Smart network is Santa Fe Relocation Services. For example, a new system allowing employees to use EZ-Link cards to enter the office was installed, so that employees could go to work earlier without having to wait for the office to be unlocked manually at 8am.

The company also installed air coolers for its staff, as the central air-conditioning system in the office is turned on only after 8am, said Santa Fe’s senior human resource executive Fanny Yuliani. 

Another company, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, provides breakfast vouchers to encourage their employees to travel during pre-peak hours. Now, about 100 of the company’s 500 employees arrive in the office before 8am. Those who arrive early can leave as early as 4pm, said Ms Serap Keskin, the company’s Asia regional manager for human resource.

Tax associate Charlene Sia arrives at the CBD before 7.30am three times a week to attend yoga classes, before making her way to work. 

“Now that I make an effort to go in the morning, I can actually free up my time, so if I get off work earlier, I get to spend more time with my family and my friends,” said the 28-year-old.