Adult EZ-link fares for buses up from October
By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 11 September 2007 1221 hrs

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	Related News • Govt, public transport firms set aside $3m to help needy cope with hike

SINGAPORE : Adult EZ-link fares for buses will increase by between one and two cents from 1 October.

Senior citizen concessionary EZ-link bus fares, which are flat fares pegged to the lowest adult fare band, will go up by two cents.

But the Public Transport Council (PTC) has decided there will be no increase in train fares.

It said the public transport operators had applied for an increase in bus and rail fares in August 2007.

After deliberating on their proposals, it approved an overall fare increase of 1.8 per cent for bus fares, but no increase for rail fares this year.

Gerard Ee, Chairman, Public Transport Council, says: "The formula is very simple. It takes into account two very important factors - the Consumer Price Index and the average wage increase. Based on that, if you look at economic growth in Singapore, it has been on the uptrend, it has improved.

"If you look at the affordability factor, that has also improved, the figures have come down to 6.5 per cent. That means that of the households being tracked, about 6.5 per cent of their incomes are being spent on public transport. So based on these two factors which are prescribed by the framework, we ought not to resist awarding 1.8 percent increase in fares."

The PTC added that the majority of commuters will see no increase or a small rise in fares.

Taking into account all public transport trips, five in ten trips will see no increase while one in ten trips will see a rise of one cent.

The remaining four in ten trips will see an increase of two cents per trip.

The last time the PTC approved an increase in bus and MRT train fares was in October last year when they went up by between one and three cents.

The Council introduced a new set of performance standards in 2006 and has tightened it further this year.

Mr Ee says: "That's the reason why we are insisting that during the peak periods when commuters are most in a hurry to get to their destination, the headway has to be reduced from 15 minutes to ten minutes, knowing that it requires the bus operators to put in more buses on the roads, that's why we have allowed them two years to achieve it.

"So you can see SBS Transit in addition to existing commitments have committed a further S$145 million for 400 new buses which should be in place by 2008. All these new introductions must surely benefit the commuters."

The government and the public transport operators SMRT Corporation and SBS Transit have set aside S$3 million in public transport vouchers to help needy families cope with the latest fare increase.

The government will draw down S$2.4 million from the Public Transport Fund, which was set up to provide help to lower-income households on their public transport costs. The public transport operators on their part have set aside S$0.6 million.

Cedric Foo, Chairman, GPC for Transport, says: "I am pleased that for the first time since the fare adjustment formula was introduced back in 2005, the Council has not approved any fare increase for rail transport. That's a good outcome.

"One of the features which I would have preferred not to have happened is (the hike in) the senior concession fare. That would be subject to increase along with the other bus fare increases. Senior commuters would be one group of people who would be least able to afford any increases." - CNA/ir/ch