Chee Hong Tat on LTA's task to overcome technical challenges of SimplyGo
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has been tasked to improve the features and user experience of SimplyGo, as well as find ways to overcome the technical challenges so that it can display fare deductions and card balances at the fare gates and bus card readers without slowing down the flow of commuters. Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, who said this in reply to MPs’ questions in Parliament on Monday (Feb 5), also pledged to “consult widely” in the effort to overcome the current technical limitations of the account-based ticketing (ABT) system. He said LTA will consider the standard needs of different groups of commuters and carefully assess the costs and benefits. In planning and implementing the next steps, the Ministry of Transport and LTA will continue to spend public funds prudently, he said. “In areas where we can save money, we will try to reduce costs as much as possible,” he said. Mr Chee pointed out that the proportion of adult commuters using SimplyGo has continued to increase. He said 64 per cent, or about two-thirds, of adult commuters were using the SimplyGo ABT system in December 2023. After LTA announced it would extend the adult card-based ticketing (CBT) system until at least 2030, about 9,000 adult commuters, or around 1,000 per day, converted their CBT cards to the SimplyGo system between Jan 23 and 31 this year. Close to 70 per cent of adult commuters were using SimplyGo in end-January, with 44 per cent using bank cards, mobile wallets and 25 per cent using SimplyGo stored value cards. Mr Chee said many commuters chose to use SimplyGo because of its benefits. They can use bank cards and mobile wallets for public transport instead of carrying an additional card. If a registered user loses his SimplyGo stored value card, he can block it and protect the value in its account. Users can also top up their SimplyGo cards for their family members via the app. However, SimplyGo cannot display the fare reduction and card balance information at the fare gates and bus card readers without causing delays to the flow of commuters. Commuters can get the information at the ticketing machines at train stations and bus interchanges. Mr Chee said LTA is not aware of any current technical solutions to overcome the latency problems.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has been tasked to improve the features and user experience of SimplyGo, as well as find ways to overcome the technical challenges so that it can display fare deductions and card balances at the fare gates and bus card readers without slowing down the flow of commuters. Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, who said this in reply to MPs’ questions in Parliament on Monday (Feb 5), also pledged to “consult widely” in the effort to overcome the current technical limitations of the account-based ticketing (ABT) system. He said LTA will consider the standard needs of different groups of commuters and carefully assess the costs and benefits. In planning and implementing the next steps, the Ministry of Transport and LTA will continue to spend public funds prudently, he said. “In areas where we can save money, we will try to reduce costs as much as possible,” he said. Mr Chee pointed out that the proportion of adult commuters using SimplyGo has continued to increase. He said 64 per cent, or about two-thirds, of adult commuters were using the SimplyGo ABT system in December 2023. After LTA announced it would extend the adult card-based ticketing (CBT) system until at least 2030, about 9,000 adult commuters, or around 1,000 per day, converted their CBT cards to the SimplyGo system between Jan 23 and 31 this year. Close to 70 per cent of adult commuters were using SimplyGo in end-January, with 44 per cent using bank cards, mobile wallets and 25 per cent using SimplyGo stored value cards. Mr Chee said many commuters chose to use SimplyGo because of its benefits. They can use bank cards and mobile wallets for public transport instead of carrying an additional card. If a registered user loses his SimplyGo stored value card, he can block it and protect the value in its account. Users can also top up their SimplyGo cards for their family members via the app. However, SimplyGo cannot display the fare reduction and card balance information at the fare gates and bus card readers without causing delays to the flow of commuters. Commuters can get the information at the ticketing machines at train stations and bus interchanges. Mr Chee said LTA is not aware of any current technical solutions to overcome the latency problems.
Popular Shows
