5,300 commuters shift travel patterns to avoid morning peak; 30% opt to commute post-peak
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The Travel Smart Journeys programme is aimed at encouraging passengers to avoid the busier segments of the MRT network during the morning peak.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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SINGAPORE – Between Jan 2 and end-May, roughly 5,300 public transport users in north-eastern Singapore shifted their travel patterns at least once to avoid commuting during the morning peak.
Of these, 30 per cent opted to use the North East Line (NEL) in the post-peak period from 8.45am to 9.45am, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on July 2.
Another 27 per cent chose to hop on the NEL before 7.15am to beat the morning peak, and 24 per cent did both, commuting during the pre- and post-peak periods.
About 7 per cent decided on a different mode of transport, switching to buses instead. And 12 per cent of commuters did both, either opting to travel by bus or riding the NEL in the off-peak period, LTA said.
Under a programme by LTA, commuters can earn reward points to offset their transport fares by tapping in at selected MRT stations before or after the most crowded period between 7.15am and 8.45am.
The Travel Smart Journeys (TSJ) programme is aimed at encouraging passengers to avoid the busier segments of the MRT network in north-eastern Singapore during the morning peak. By doing so, they can earn rebates worth up to 80 per cent of the journey fare.
Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao reported in May that between Jan 2 and end-March, about 4,300 people had shifted their travel patterns at least once to avoid the morning peak.
LTA on July 1 added Kovan MRT station to the list of participating stations. These include Punggol Coast, Punggol, Sengkang, Buangkok and Hougang MRT stations as well as all Punggol and Sengkang LRT stations.
The expansion of the TSJ programme “allows us to optimise the use of our public transport capacity by distributing morning peak-period demand”, LTA said.
“We hope to incentivise more Kovan residents travelling to the city area during the morning peak to re-mode to City Direct service 676, which will bring them directly to Tanjong Pagar and Promenade,” the authority added.
Under the programme, public transport users are also encouraged to take peak-hour express bus services that offer similar reward points, instead of travelling by train on the NEL.
There are 12 such bus services, including City Direct services 675, 676, 677 and 678.
To qualify for the TSJ programme, commuters must have tapped in at any of the selected train stations between 7.15am and 8.45am on at least six days in the past 30 days. This is to prove that they regularly use the rail lines during the morning peak period.
A SimplyGo account is needed to register for the programme. Each reward point is worth one cent, and points can be redeemed in blocks of 500, equivalent to $5, through the SimplyGo app.
Tapping in pre-peak (before 7.15am) or post-peak (between 8.45am and 9.45am) will earn commuters points worth up to 80 per cent of the journey fare.
For trips between 8.45am and 8.59am, or between 9.31am and 9.45am, commuters will earn points worth up to 40 per cent of the fare.
The programme began in 2020 as a trial with residents using the Punggol, Sengkang and Buangkok MRT stations and the Sengkang-Punggol LRT lines heading towards eastern Singapore. It initially focused on encouraging commuters to switch from MRT to bus travel during peak hours, and was expanded to more bus services in 2023.
On Jan 2, 2025, additional bus services were added, and the reward point scheme was extended to cover train journeys as well.
