The Government remains committed to provide support for households that may require assistance in coping with the fare adjustment. Therefore, the Government will utilise the Public Transport Fund to make available PTVs worth $50 each to resident households with a monthly household income per person of not more than $1,600. This matches the highest quantum of PTVs that we have given. This will help to cushion the impact of the fare increase on lower-income households.

Commuters who require more help to cope with the fare adjustment may approach their Community Centres/Clubs for assistance, and SimplyGo Ticket Offices/Ticketing Service Centres for information on the various concession schemes available.

PTC ensures fare affordability by keeping a close watch over the Public Transport Affordability Indicator (PTAI), which measures the proportion of monthly household income spent on public transport for the second quintile and second decile income groups. On top of that, PTC also monitors public sentiments on affordability by gathering public feedback through public engagement sessions and surveys. PTC also monitors international comparisons on fare affordability

From 2013 to 2022, the percentage of household income spent on public transport for the average income commuter (second quintile income households) and lower-income commuters (second decile income households) has fallen from 3.1% to 2.4% and 2.2% to 1.7% respectively. The PTAI for 2023 is expected to be similar to 2022.

At every Fare Review Exercise, the PTC takes many factors into account before deciding on the final fare adjustment quantum. These include the deferred fare quantum from the previous exercise, if any, the fare formula output for that year, the economic situation at that point in time, the financial sustainability of the public transport system, and the affordability of public transport fares for commuters.

In general, we should try not to defer fare increases by more than a year, because the reality is that costs have risen, and the bigger the gap between cost and fares, the harder it is for the public transport system to be financially sustainable over the long term. But in these last two years, we have seen very strong price increases, even price spikes. Energy is the most apparent, more than 100% in 2021, and more than 60% in 2022. There have also been strong inflation and wage pressures. So, the PTC has been taking a balanced approach – allowing some cost increases to pass through, but not all such that it becomes unbearable.

In the same way, PTC will have to decide how much of the deferred fare amount to implement in subsequent years. These deferred increases are reflective of actual cost increases that the public transport system has already experienced.

The increase in per-journey fares will affect heavy users of public transport the most. PTC recognises that heavy users among the concession groups, in particular, may need more support to manage the increase in their public transport spending. Therefore, PTC decided to reduce hybrid monthly concession pass prices by up to 10%, so that a larger proportion of heavy users among concessions group can benefit from the passes.

The economic climate has affected both the commuters and the cost of providing public transport. While the economic outlook has improved from last year, with inflation expected to moderate, we understand that Singaporeans remain concerned about cost of living. That is why PTC decided not to grant the full maximum allowable fare adjustment of 22.6%. PTC’s decision of a 7% fare increase is carefully calibrated to ensure that fares remain affordable to Singaporeans, and that the public transport system remains financially sustainable.

Fares need to increase given the rising costs of operations, and to continue to ensure fair wages and support quality training for about 22,000 Public Transport workers.

Some examples are:

Origin-Destination of 4.2 km or less using the rail:

Queenstown – Outram Park (4.1 km)

Adult card fare will be increased from $1.09 to $1.19;

Seniors card fare will be increased from $0.68 to $0.72

Toa Payoh – Orchard (3.8km)

Adult card fare will be increased from $1.09 to $1.19;

Seniors card fare will be increased from $0.68 to $0.72

Orchard – Shenton Way (4.2 km)

Adult card fare will be increased from $1.09 to $1.19

Seniors card fare will be increased from $0.68 to $0.72

Origin-Destination of more than 4.2 km using the rail:

Bishan – City Hall (8.1 km)

Adult card fare will be increased from $1.45 to $1.56

Seniors card fare will be increased from $0.94 to $0.99

HarbourFront – Paya Lebar (11.5 km)

Adult card fare will be increased from $1.64 to $1.75

Seniors card fare will be increased from $0.94 to $0.99

Bukit Panjang – Tampines (29.4km)

Adult card fare will be increased from $2.15 to $2.26

Seniors card fare will be increased from $0.94 to $0.99

In every Fare Review Exercise, PTC must decide how to spread the fare increase across commuter groups, including for journeys of different distances. Instead of a uniform flat increase, PTC decided to tier the fare increase by different distance fare bands, to ensure that the increase is more proportionately shared among commuters who make shorter and longer journeys. For this Exercise, PTC decided on a distance cut-off of 4.2km between a 10- and 11-cent increase for adult commuters; and a 4- and 5-cent increase for concession groups, based on travel patterns.