Chee Hong Tat on keeping public transport fares affordable

The Public Transport Council (PTC) aims to keep fares affordable for commuters while ensuring that the public transport system remains financially sustainable. In deciding on the fare adjustment to implement each year, it is guided by the fare adjustment formula while also taking into consideration economic and social factors. Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, who highlighted this in reply to Parliamentary questions on Wednesday (Oct 16), said the Land Transport Authority has put in place measures to hold transport operators accountable for service and reliability standards. For this year's exercise, the output from the fare adjustment formula is 3.3 per cent, driven by core inflation and wage growth in 2023 and partially moderated by a decrease in energy prices. After adding the deferred quantum of 15.6 per cent from last year, the maximum allowable fare adjustment quantum is 18.9 per cent. Similar to the 2023 fare review exercise, the PTC decided to raise fares by six per cent, which is less than one-third of the maximum quantum. The fare adjustment will be implemented in end-December, similar to previous years. Mr Chee said the PTC has signalled that it intends to continue taking a gradual approach to future adjustments to mitigate the impact on commuters.