Close to 14,000 public service officers working in the city area will benefit from the Government's plan to provide free train rides before 7.45am.

More than 40 public agencies located near the 16 affected MRT stations will back the Government's year-long trial to ease the peak-hour crush, said the Public Service Division in a statement on Tuesday. This includes the Finance and Health ministries, as well as, statutory boards like the Economic Development Board and Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Public service officers can opt to start work before 7.45am under a staggered work-hours policy to get the subsidised rail travel. Officers can also choose to start work later, depending on the nature of work and so long as they put in the required working hours a week, the statement added.

PSD's career development and management director Tan Hoe Soon said managers "must be mindful that officers who start work earlier should, correspondingly, be able to leave the office earlier." Work routines, such as meetings, will also have to factor this in, Mr Tan added.Separately, the Association of Banks in Singapore also welcomed the free travel trial in their own statement, saying that it will allow more in the financial sector to opt for flexible working arrangements.