If you haven’t heard, public transport fare hikes will kick in from Dec 26 due to rising energy prices. After all, with a 117% increase in energy prices, it is inevitable that parts of the hefty increase will have to be passed on to commuters. Bo bian one you know.
Here are some quick FAQs on the topic:
How much will I be affected?
Well, it depends on how far you travel, and what type of concession you own.
Want to find out the exact distance in your commute? You can go and check out this handy distance calculator from LTA to start budgeting your future commute!
Just take note hor that the fare shown on the website is before the hike, simply because the increase has not kicked in yet!
In the above example, an adult who lives in Sengkang and travels to Raffles Place for work would pay an additional 5 cents per trip, or 10 cents for a round trip.
Broadly assuming the person commutes to Raffles Place about 20 days a month (no WFH for this poor bloke I guess), this adds up to about an additional $2/ month.
Who decides how much to increase, and how?
The Public Transport Council (PTC) is the government regulatory body that reviews public transport fares and ticket payment services.
We will spare you the technical details but the PTC calculates the maximum fare increase using a formula. The fare formula takes into account things like manpower costs, energy costs and consumer prices etc.
If you’re really into the math, you can check out more information here.
What has the PTC done for commuters?
Well, SBS Transit and SMRT applied for a fare adjustment of 13.5% (the maximum based on PTC’s fare formula) but PTC has only approved a 2.9% fare increase – says a lot about it liao hor. GDLL~
Separately, to keep public transport operators going, the Government is also providing an additional S$200 million in subsidies in 2023, on top of current subsidies. This is meant to help all commuters cope with cost of living.
What other help is there to cope with fare hikes?
The government has announced that public transport vouchers worth $30 will be made available to lower and lower-middle income households.
Similar to past exercises, this scheme is accessible to resident households with a monthly household income of not more than S$1,600 per person.
How to know if I am eligible / how to access the transport vouchers?
For those who have qualified last year and continue to meet the eligibility criteria, you will automatically receive a notification letter via the mail by end-Dec 2022 and need not apply.
For those who previously did not qualify, but now do, you can apply for the vouchers online or in person at community centres or community clubs. Applications would open in early 2023.
For those who don’t qualify this time round – Maybe you can consider skipping that Starbucks or Bubble Tea once a month lor. Not very hard lah, tio bo?
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