SINGAPORE: A total of 600,000 public transport vouchers worth S$30 each will be made available to lower-income households to help them cope with rising bus and train fares which will kick in from Dec 26.
This comes after the Public Transport Council’s (PTC) decision to increase fares by 2.9 per cent in its annual fare review exercise due to rising energy prices.
The vouchers can be used to top up fare cards or buy monthly concession passes, said the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the People’s Association (PA) in a joint news release on Wednesday (Oct 12).
Similar to last year’s Public Transport Vouchers exercise, it will cover resident households with a monthly household income per person of not more than S$1,600.
The vouchers will be disbursed in two stages.
In the first stage, households that received the vouchers in the 2021 exercise and continue to meet the income eligibility criteria will automatically receive a notification letter through the mail, without having to apply. This will be done by end-December.
In the second stage, which will start from early 2023, households that meet the income criteria but did not receive a voucher in the first stage can apply for them online or in person at their local community centres or community clubs.
All vouchers must be redeemed by Mar 31, 2024.
RISING TRANSPORT COSTS
From Dec 26, adult card fares will increase by 4 cents for journeys up to 8.2km long. For journeys longer than 8.2km, fares will increase by 5 cents.
Meanwhile, the increase in concession card fares will be capped at 1 cent per journey to keep fares lower for students, senior citizens, lower-wage workers, and people with disabilities.
There will be no change to the prices of monthly concession passes, adult monthly travel passes and bus cash fares.
The overall fare adjustment of 2.9 per cent translates to an increase in fare revenue of about S$50.3 million a year, with SBS Transit Rail and SMRT Trains set to see an increase of S$7.4 million and S$15.4 million in annual revenue respectively.