Eligible lower-income households can apply for public transport vouchers worth $50 from Jan 15
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The voucher disbursement exercise is meant to help resident households with a monthly income of up to $1,600 per person cope with the latest fare hike.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
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SINGAPORE - Eligible households can apply for public transport vouchers worth $50 each from Jan 15, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and People’s Association said in a joint statement on Jan 12.
The voucher disbursement exercise is meant to help resident households with a monthly income of up to $1,600 per person cope with the latest fare hike, which came into effect on Dec 23 , 2023 .
At least one member of the household must be a Singaporean or permanent resident.
Similar to previous years, the 2023 public transport voucher exercise is carried out in two stages.
The first stage was concluded in December 2023. Over 240,000 households that received a voucher during the 2022 exercise would have automatically received a notification letter regarding their vouchers, should they continue to meet the income criteria. They may redeem their vouchers via the SimplyGo app or at any SimplyGo kiosk, top-up kiosk, assisted service kiosk, SimplyGo ticket office or ticketing service centre.
The second stage of the exercise will run from Jan 15 to Oct 31.
Eligible households can apply for the public transport vouchers online at or in person at their local community centres.
During this period, those who miss the income eligibility criteria slightly can submit an appeal online at or in person at the community centres.
The vouchers must be redeemed by March 31, 2025.
On its website, MOT states that public transport operators are required to contribute their profits towards the vouchers during years when there is a fare increase.
Fines collected from transport operators as a result of service disruptions also contribute towards funding the vouchers.
On Dec 23, 2023, bus and train fares increased by up to 11 cents for adults who pay by card, or up to 20 cents for those who pay by cash.
Seniors, students, people with disabilities and low-wage workers who pay concessionary fares have to pay up to five cents more when they pay by card, or 10 cents more when they use cash.
