SINGAPORE - The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will help fund the flexible travel plans companies develop for staff, in a bid to shift more commuters out of the morning peak hours.

It plans to partner companies that are based near MRT stations and employ more than 200 staff for its Travel Smart Network initiative, said Senior Minister of State for Transport, Mrs Josephine Teo, on Wednesday.

Companies can receive as much as just over half a million in funding from the LTA over three years. These companies can apply for a $30,000 voucher to engage approved consultants to develop travel demand management plans, as well as receive a grant of up to $160,000 a year, for three years, to co-fund initiatives such as building more bicycle parking facilities or arranging morning programmes for early birds.

This move to engage employers is an expansion of an existing trial with 12 companies to promote flexible work arrangements. It also comes on the heels of existing measures to shift commuters out of the morning peak, such as offering free travel for those who exit from 18 city-area stations before 7.45am.

That initiative, which was recently extended by a year, has shifted about 7 per cent of commuters out of the peak period. However it has since stagnated, hence the push to get more companies on board.

Companies that wish to join the Travel Smart Network can e-mail LTA-TravelSmart@lta.gov.sg for more details.