The Public Transport Fare Review 2018 sees an overall 4.3% increase in bus and train fares with effect from 29th December 2018. Adult Ez-Link card and cash fares for buses and trains are set to increase by 6 & 10 cents respectively.

As published by the Public Transport Council (PTC) in September 2018, based on the new Public Transport Fare Adjustment Formula applicable from 2018 to 2022 and taking into account the carry-over quantum of -3.2% from the 2017 Fare Review Exercise, the maximum allowable fare adjustment quantum to be considered for the 2018 Fare Review Exercise is 4.3%.

In addition, Distance Fare Rules will be amended to enable multiple rail transfers within a single journey.

The Fare Review At A Glance:

From 29th December 2018:

Adults
Card fares to increase by 6 cents per journey.
Cash fares to increase by 10 cents per journey.
Children below 7:
No change in fares, free travel for all.
Students:
Card fares to increase by 1 cent per journey.
No change to student cash fare.
Senior Citizens
Card fares to increase by 1 cent per journey.
Persons with Disabilities / Lower-Wage Workers
Card fares to increase by 1 cent per journey.lank
All Monthly Concession Pass Holders
No change in prices for monthly concession passes.

A: Fare Adjustment Formula for 2018

A new Fare Adjustment Formula is applicable from 2018 to 2022 as announced by the Public Transport Council on 22 March 2018.

0.5cCPI + 0.4WI + 0.1EI – 0.1% + NCF

Quantum carried-over from the 2017 Exercise = -3.2%
2018 maximum allowable fare adjustment quantum = 4.3%

The new Fare Adjustment Formula is based on five components:

Core Consumer Price Index (cCPI): the change in core Consumer Price Index over preceding year; 1.5% in 2017.
Wage Index (WI): the change in Average Monthly Earnings (Annual National Average) over the preceding year, adjusted to account for any change in the employer’s CPF contribution rate; 3.0% in 2017.
Energy Index (EI): the change in Energy Index which is a composite of cost changes in electricity and diesel; 26.2% in 2017.
0.1% – Productivity Extraction factor set for 2018 to 2022.
Network Capacity Factor (NCF): the change in NCF over preceding year, which means capacity provision relative to passenger demand for the entire public transport system; 3.0% in 2017

B: Fare Adjustments for Adults

Regular commuters paying adult fares via EZ-Link Card and Cash will see a 6 cent and 10 cent increase in bus and train card fares respectively from 29 December 2018. This would bring transport fares to their highest since the introduction of Distance-Based Fares, and slightly above 2015 levels (prior to the fall in oil prices leading to lower fares).

A consolidated list of new fares can be can be found on the PTC’s website.

C: Fare Adjustments for Concession Card holders:

Full-time students from Primary, Secondary and Tertiary institutions currently eligible for Student concession fares, Senior Citizens, Persons With Disabilities and Lower-Wage Workers will see a 1 cent increase in card fares for both bus and train fares from 29 December 2018.

Cash fares will remain the same.

A consolidated list of new fares can be can be found on the PTC’s website.

D: Monthly Concession Passes

Prices for all Monthly Concession Passes will remain the same.

Prices of Monthly Concession Passes (Click to Expand)

Bus Monthly Concession Passes
Primary Student – $22.50
Secondary Student – $27.50
Polytechnic Student – $27.50
University Student – $52.00
Full-time National Serviceman – $52.00
Train Monthly Concession Passes
Primary Student – $20.00
Secondary Student – $25.00
Polytechnic Student – $25.00
University Student – $45.00
Full-time National Serviceman – $45.00
Hybrid Concessions Passes & Adult Monthly Travel Pass
Primary Student – $41.00
Secondary Student – $51.00
Polytechnic Student – $51.00
University Student – $85.00
Full-time National Serviceman – $85.00
Adult (Monthly Travel Pass) – $120.00
Senior Citizen – $60.00

E: Transfer Rule Adjustment – Multiple Rail Transfers

With the new fares taking effect on 29 December 2018, the Distance Fare Transfer Rule will be amended to accommodate multiple rail transfers.

Previously, commuters can only enter and exit the rail network once during an entire journey, except at unpaid link transfers (such as Tampines, Newton, Bukit Panjang MRT Stations) where a 15 minute period is in place for commuters to change between rail lines. Commuters who enter the rail network again for the second time during a journey with a previous train ride would be charged for a new journey instead.

As such, the rule adjustment allows for no additional boarding charge when making multiple rail transfers in one journey.

Several conditions apply, such as:

Rail transfers have to be made at different train stations within 15 minutes
or
By taking bus trip(s) between two different stations

The 45-minute allowance between each transfer also applies for bus-train, train-bus or bus-bus transfers.

F: SBS Transit & SMRT Non-Basic Fare Adjustment

Fare revision for SBS Transit & SMRT’s non-basic bus services with special fares – SMRT Bus Service 926, Night Rider, Nite Owl and Chinatown Direct – will be announced at a later date, if any.

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