Public transport fares to go down by 2.5% from Jul 3
By Lin Jiamei | Posted: 20 April 2010 1231 hrs

INGAPORE : Bus and train fares will be reduced by 2.5 per cent from July 3 when the Public Transport Council (PTC) introduces a new distance-based fare system.

Currently fares are calculated based on stages and there are fare penalties and rebates when the commuter makes a transfer.

But come July 3, the fares will be based on the actual distance travelled regardless of whether it is made on a direct trip or many transfers were made.

With the changes, the PTC said that two in three commuters will see a reduction or no change in their weekly public transport expenditure.

One third of them will see an increase.

Boarding charges will be higher with the changes.

On buses, they will go up 2 cents to 71 cents, and increase 3 cents to either 71 cents or 76 cents on trains.

Senior citizens and students will continue to enjoy concessionary travel.

Their fares will be capped at 7.2 kilometres.

When the changes kick in, seven in ten enjoying concessionary travel will see savings.

Meanwhile, SMRT has said it supports the implementation of distance-based fares.

Its chief operating officer Yeo Meng Hin said it will provide commuters with the convenience of different travel modes and encourage commuters to use the public transport system.

In spite of the fare reduction, SMRT said it is committed to further assist commuters who require financial assistance through its various programmes.

- CNA/il

"the fares will be based on the actual distance travelled regardless of whether it is made on a direct trip or many transfers"

During my early working days, I had to take my bus no. returning to the terminus and without getting off, waited for it to make its outward journey because it was always full and I could not board if I had waited at the outward journey's stop. I paid bus fare twice. It was that bad.
Compare that with what's to be implemented, it will be a breeze - just hop on and off along your route of travel.

henny, there is no absolute perfect.

Rosylooks - agree there no absolute perfect situation.

Henny - for example if the government hv fewer seats in the buses or increase frequency, it'll increase operation cost, which cost may pass down to us, then you'll complain & ask Why... As for all yr demands, I dont think there's any government in Asia whom can accomodate yr request.

Posted By rosylooks on 21 Apr 2010 04:37 PM
During my early working days, I had to take my bus no. returning to the terminus and without getting off, waited for it to make its outward journey because it was always full and I could not board if I had waited at the outward journey's stop. I paid bus fare twice. It was that bad.
Compare that with what's to be implemented, it will be a breeze - just hop on and off along your route of travel.

henny, there is no absolute perfect.

Posted By GG on 21 Apr 2010 04:43 PM

Rosylooks - agree there no absolute perfect situation.

Henny - for example if the government hv fewer seats in the buses or increase frequency, it'll increase operation cost, which cost may pass down to us, then you'll complain & ask Why... As for all yr demands, I dont think there's any government in Asia whom can accomodate yr request.

henny, I am referring to improvement. From here on it only gets better.

Don't take the government's word for it, travel around and see for yourself.

http://www.post1.net/lowem/resource/20080126-new-mrt-lines-709x443.jpg

Graffiti vandal breaches MRT security

An MRT train parked in a sprawling Changi depot last month was hit with garish graffiti in what constitutes a serious security breach in a restricted area.

The Straits Times reports that the vandal is believed to have sneaked into the depot by overcoming a series of barriers, including fences topped with barbed wire. Once inside, he spray-painted elaborate graffiti on one side of the train across a carriage.

The culprit is believed to be a 33-year-old Swiss national who cut his way through a fence along Xilin Avenue.

He spent several minutes spraying the graffiti before slipping off undetected. He was eventually arrested about a week after the incident was first reported to the police on May 19.

It is not known if MRT staff spotted the graffiti-painted train, but it plied its route for some time in full view of commuters on the day of the incident.

One commuter even recorded video footage of the train pulling out of Kembangan station and posted it on Youtube.


The practice of spraying trains can be traced to New York in the 1970s, when modern graffiti artists broke into subway yards to “hit trains”, usually on the sides of the cars.

Vandalism aside, the issue has raised serious concerns about security in a restricted area. This is especially so in light of recent reports that Orchard MRT station was a target for terrorist attacks.

The station was circled on a map of the Singapore MRT network that was found in the home of an Indonesian terror suspect who had been killed by security forces.

Dr John Harrison, a specialist in terrorism research at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said the incident served as an important wake-up call to review existing security systems.

“It could have been a (potentially) very serious situation. An individual with knowledge of the system and intent to disrupt or damage it could do much, much worse,” he adds.

Singapore authorities have stepped up security on public transport networks in recent years. More cameras and are going up at bus interchanges and train stations and videos urging commuters to report suspicious items have also been screened.

Last August, a new police department was set up to secure Singapore’s public transport network against criminals and terrorists.

And yet, the breach of security at Changi depot definitely raises questions about the level of security in Singapore’s public transport system and how vulnerable we might be to a potential threat.

26-year-old Samuel Lee told Yahoo! Singapore, “If even an amateur graffiti vandal could break through security barriers at the depot, it’s definitely going to be a piece of cake for someone planning an attack.”

http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/06/04/graffiti-vandal-breaches-mrt-security/

What has happened, already happened. Lets move on. Lets go and have mee siam mai hum instead. haha. 

Anyone take MRT or bus today ? the fare go up quite alot. for my case 12 cent more per trip.

Somehow i dun quite understand the logic behind the idea of "the more transits, the cheaper the fare"..... why and how could this fundamental stands when time is compromise???

Think for every 12cent increase to your per trip fare would make up 24cent a day, $4.80 a month (take into consideration of 5days week work), $ 57.60 a year..... if 4 members in a family with same increase level would make $230.40........

Now they charge base on distance right?
Start liao or havn't start??

Posted By e-tsuyoshi on 05 Jul 2010 02:56 PM
Now they charge base on distance right?
Start liao or havn't start??

i wonder got pple go and ride different route juz to see the price difference... :P

I remember I take a bus trip from Clementi to Bukit Timah oni 50cents oni.... now $1.00 liao... increase 100%... +.+!!

Everytime they going to introduce transport fee increased, they always said a new rule/policy regarding mrt/bus. I guess it's just a tactic not to clearly announce that transport fee is increasing.

I remember the latest policy was increase the transfer rebate to 40c from 25c, though overall my transport cost between office and home increased by several cent. I'm sure that study has been conducted before to ensure that the new policy will capture most of the commuter to pay higher fee. Of course there might be several group of people who has their transport cost reduced, but for sure majority experience increase in their transport cost.