• Assistance schemes include $500,000 worth of transport vouchers which will be given to the poor and needy
• One in four of our commuters will not be affected by fare increases
• About one in two of our commuters will pay only 1 cent more in fares
• Children and student fares and concession pass prices will not be increased
• Cash fares will remain unchanged

The Public Transport Council (PTC) today announced fare revisions for both bus and train fares. The fare revision will come into effect on 1 October 2006.

Under the new fare structure, adult ez-link bus fares will be increased by between 1 and 3 cents. The first fare band of bus services paid by the ez-link card will increase by 1 cent, while the second fare band will see a 2-cents increase. From the third fare band onwards, the increase will be 3 cents. Only 16.3% of all SBS Transit bus commuters will see a 3-cents increase.

For train services, adult ez-link fares will be increased by between 1 and 3 cents. For those travelling up to 3.2 km, the trip will cost 1 cent more. For those travelling between 3.21 km and 18.6 km, it will cost 2 cents more while those who travel more than 18.6 km will pay 3 cents more. As a result, the majority of fares for both NEL and LRT will increase by only 1 or 2 cents. Only 0.3% of all SBS Transit rail commuters will see a 3-cents increase.

Children and student fares, as well as prices for e-stamps, will not be increased. Cash fares and single trip tickets for rail will also remain unchanged. Fares for basic-plus bus services¹ operated by SBS Transit will also stay the same. This means that some 25% of all SBS Transit commuters will not be affected by the fare adjustments. For SBS Transit commuters who will be affected by the changes, more than 60% will pay just 1 cent more.

SBS Transit is aware that there will be some groups of commuters who will feel the impact of a fare increase more. To help mitigate this impact, SBS Transit will be extending $4.4 million worth of assistance schemes. This will comprise:

• $500,000 worth of transport vouchers which will be disbursed through the Citizens’ Consultative Committees (CCCs), to complement the assistance they are already rendering to the needy through the CCC ComCare Fund;
• $2.5 million worth of extended concession hours for the elderly. The extended concession hours, which were introduced last year, will cost us an additional $373,000 over the next 12 months. SBS Transit is currently the only public transport operator in Singapore to offer concession travel for the elderly during the evening peak hours; and
• $1.4 million for capping the maximum journey fare at $1.90. This value-for-money proposition, which we introduced in 2002, will cost us an additional $135,000 this coming year.

SBS Transit Executive Director, Mr Ong Boon Leong, said: “We are keenly aware that any increase in fares, however small, will have a significant impact on certain groups of commuters. To ensure that needy families are not severely impacted, we will be giving them $500,000 worth of transport vouchers. In addition, we will continue to offer our elderly passengers concessionary travel from 9am on weekdays and throughout the entire weekend. This, we feel, is our social responsibility.

“We will meanwhile continue to look at more value-for-money propositions for commuters to ensure that public transport remains an efficient and affordable mode of travel for everyone,” he said.

Taking into account the incremental costs of the assistance schemes, the effective fare adjustment will be smaller at 1.5%. This means that the fare adjustment, which will yield $8.7 million for a full year, will only provide partial relief for the increased cost pressures we face.

In the last year, energy costs have risen by over 40%, or nearly $30 million, compared to the year before. From the end of last year, we have been further required by the National Environment Agency to use only ultra-low sulphur diesel which costs more. This alone will increase our fuel costs by another $2.2 million a year. At $101 million, or almost one-fifth of total operating costs, energy costs have become our second largest expense after manpower cost. Staff salaries, which is the largest expense item for the company, saw a 3% increase as part of the annual increment exercise at the beginning of this year.

Despite the high costs of operation, SBS Transit has continued introducing many new services to cater to commuters’ needs. Since last year, a record 27 new bus services were launched and another four services were enhanced – six of which were the result of consultations with grassroots organisations to better address the transport needs of their residents. The new bus services include Chinatown Direct and Fast Forward which have been introduced to provide commuters with faster and more efficient travel options.

While the company is still profitable, a fare adjustment is necessary also to ensure that it continues to earn sufficient money to be able to invest in its business so as to improve its services. Buying new buses, for instance, costs money. Last year, we purchased 150 new air-conditioned, double-deck buses which are also low-floor and wheelchair-accessible. These 150 buses cost about $75 million. This year, we have just recently exercised our option to buy another 50 of these buses which will cost another $25 million.

The investment in new buses is necessary to provide new services and cut down on waiting time for our commuters. Going forward, we intend to increase the number of buses we operate so as to improve the service frequency of our buses and meet our obligations required in the new Quality of Service Standards.

[ ¹Basic-plus bus services include Express, Fast Forward, CityBuzz, Chinatown Direct, Parks 408, Parks 409, Stadium Direct and Nite Owl services.]

New Bus Fare Structure

* Senior Citizen concession fares to follow first fare band of new trunk fares.
Concession fares applicable from 9:00am to end of operations on weekdays, and the whole of Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

# Fares for Jurong Industrial Services (JIS) to follow new trunk fares up to 5th fare band.