10 Facts About the Public Transport Price Hike That’ll Start From 26 Dec

Unless it’s followed by the phrase “in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve” or something similar, the word “hike” is despised by Singaporeans.

Much like how a dog starts growling when you say “bath time”, seeing the word “hike” makes our muscles tense up and our teeth clench.

Scientists are still studying this strange biological phenomenon, but have found no explanations so far.

This time, it’s not a GST hike or petrol duty hike, but a hike in public transport fares that we’ll soon be complaining about.

Reader: *clenches teeth*

Here are 10 facts about the latest public transport fare hike which will kick in on 26 Dec this year:

Bus and Train Fares Will Increase by 2.2% on 26 Dec

That’s right, both bus and train fares will increase by 2.2% from 26 Dec.

The hike was announced by the Public Transport Council (PTC) yesterday (3 Nov) following its annual fare revision exercise.

This is the first time in two years that operators have increased their fares for public transport.

The last hike occurred in 2019, when fares were raised by 7%.

Fares Will Go Up By 3 to 4 Cents For Adults, 1 Cent For Senior Citizens & Students

This means that adults who pay their fares by card will be subject to a hike of 3 to 4 cents.

For journeys of up to 14.2km – which covers around 75% of public transport journeys taken by adults – fares will increase by 3 cents.

Adult fare journeys of more than 14.2km will go up by 4 cents.

Meanwhile, fares for concessionary groups – such as students, senior citizens, people with disabilities, and low-wage workers – will go up by 1 cent per journey.

There Will Be No Fare Increases For Cash Fares, Single Trip Tickets, & Concessions

The good news is that there’ll be no fare increases for monthly concessions and travel passes.

Similarly, prices for cash fares on buses and single-trip tickets on trains will remain unchanged.

So, if you really want to avoid the price hike, just take the bus and always pay cash.

Reader: But then I’d have to carry coins with me all the time and count them for every trip, and it might be more expensive

You can’t have everything in life, dear reader.

The Price Hike Is the Maximum Allowable Fare Adjustment

According to the PTC, this price hike of 2.2% is the maximum allowable fare adjustment.

This year’s maximum allowable fare adjustment is actually 2.2%, but the PTC brought over the 4.4% fare increase from 2020, since public transport fares were frozen last year.

Both SBS Transit and SMRT had asked for the full 2.2% fare adjustment.

But why now? Why the urgent need?

Ridership Dropped to 25% Of Pre-Pandemic Levels Last Year

Well, there are many reasons for the timing of this price hike.

For one, public transport ridership had plunged to as low as 25% last year, owing to the pandemic.

While ridership has since gone up to 60% of pre-pandemic levels as of September, it is predicted to return to pre-COVID-19 levels only at the end of 2022 or even 2023.

Despite this, public transport operators have continued to run trains and buses largely at pre-pandemic frequencies, PTC said.

Fare Increases Needed to Support Rising Operating Costs

Operators also have to deal with rising costs, such as energy and wages, which is why it was impossible to keep putting off the price hike.

As PTC chairman Richard Magnus said: “Lower fare revenue with higher operational costs cannot continue indefinitely.”

PTC added that SMRT and SBS Transit would both have incurred “significant losses” if not for Government support.

Cleaning & Disinfection Regimes Cost a Few Million a Year

In addition to energy and wages, one of the reasons for the rising operating costs is the additional amount operators have had to spend on cleaning and disinfection regimens.

These regimes alone – put in place to safeguard employees and commuters – cost the operators a few million dollars a year.

This Hike Will Lead to a $34.2 million Rise in Fare Revenue

The fare hike will lead to a $34.2 million rise in fare revenue for the government, and an increase in annual revenue of $4.6 million for SBS and $10 million for SMRT.

Both operators will share their gains with commuters, however, contributing around $2.23 million to the Public Transport Fund.

The Government Will Provide More Public Transport Vouchers

Speaking about the price hike, Transport Minister S Iswaran said the government is aware that it’s a difficult time for many households because of the pandemic.

This is why the government will be tapping on the Public Transport Fund to provide 600,000 public transport vouchers to help households in need.

This is the largest number of public transport vouchers ever issued, the PTC said. Each voucher will be worth $30.

The Next fare Increase Could Be Even Higher

It’s definitely not what we want to hear right now, but the next fare increase could be even higher, according to experts. 

This is because the next fare review would take into account rising energy costs, increased ridership, and increased cost of operations due to safe management measures.

This year’s fare adjustment was actually negative due to the fall in energy prices last year – it only went up to 2.2% after carrying over the 4.4% fare increase from 2020, as previously mentioned.

So, while we’re not thrilled about having to pay more for public transport, it certainly could have been a lot worse.

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Featured Image: Dr David Sing/shutterstock.com