askST: How will the upcoming public transport fare hike affect me?

SINGAPORE – From Dec 27, public transport fares for adults paying by contactless bank cards, SimplyGo cards or ez-link cards will rise by nine cents to 10 cents per journey, the Public Transport Council (PTC) said on Oct 14, as part of its yearly fare review exercise.

This is the fifth consecutive year of fare hikes, following increases of

up to

10 cents

in adult card fares

in 2024, 11 cents in 2023, five cents in 2022, and four cents in 2021.

The Straits Times has a closer look at the key changes that commuters have to take note of in 2025’s fare hike.

Q: How will the public transport fare increase affect me?

A: From Dec 27, fares will increase by nine cents on journeys of up to 17.2km for adults who tap in and out using contactless bank cards, SimplyGo or ez-link cards. Those travelling more than 17.2km will pay 10 cents more.

Concession card holders will see no change in fares for short bus and train rides of up to 3.2km, unlike the four-cent increase they faced in 2024.

For journeys between 3.3km and 7.2km, concession card fares will go up by three cents. Concession card fares for trips longer than 7.2km will increase by four cents.

Concession card holders include students, seniors, people with disabilities and low-wage workers with workfare transport concession cards, who will be able to cap their monthly public transport expenditure.

The 2025 overall fare adjustment of 5 per cent – down from 6 per cent in 2024 – was moderated to keep fare changes manageable for commuters despite sustained increases in the cost of operating public transport, PTC said.

It was also moderated by lower inflation and a drop in energy prices in 2025, the council added.

PTC said it has been limiting fare increases. Otherwise, fares in 2025 could have risen by 14.4 per cent, comprising a 1.5 per cent adjustment for the year and a 12.9 per cent hike rolled over from 2024.

Cash fares, however, will increase by five cents for students, 10 cents for seniors and people with disabilities, and 20 cents for adults to reflect the higher operating costs of handling cash.

Less than 1 per cent of all public transport journeys here were paid in cash, and there was no change to cash fares in 2024.

Q: What if I take express bus services?

A: From Dec 27, adults using contactless bank cards, SimplyGo cards or ez-link cards for express bus rides will pay 49 cents to 50 cents more per journey, while concession card holders will pay 20 cents to 24 cents more.

This means that express bus services will cost 40 cents more than regular bus services for adults and 20 cents more for concession card holders.

The last time the difference in fares between express and basic bus services was adjusted was in 2010, when distance-based fares were introduced, PTC said.

It noted that express bus services provide commuters with differentiated services via faster journeys from the heartland to the city and workplaces compared with regular bus services.

The fare increases are meant to better reflect the higher costs of providing express bus services and to improve the financial sustainability of running such services.

Q: What is new in the way fares are being calculated?

A: To reflect cost changes in a timelier manner, PTC will shift the reference period for calculating public transport fares. The new period will run for 12 months from July in the prior year to June in the current year, instead of the 12 months ending in December of the prior year.

The council said this change will reduce the time lag between when operators experience cost changes and when fares are adjusted at the end of each year, cutting the delay by six months.

To facilitate this change, the fare review in 2025 will cover an 18-month period – from January 2024 to June 2025 – as a one-time adjustment.

The extended reference period resulted in a 1.5 per cent fare adjustment for 2025.

PTC noted that if the old timeframe had been used, the fare adjustment would have been higher, at 2.4 per cent. But by using the new reference period – which includes the substantial drop in energy prices in the first half of 2025 – the fare adjustment was reduced to 1.5 per cent.

Q: Are monthly travel and concession passes impacted?

A: From Dec 27, the price for the adult monthly travel pass will drop from $128 to $122, and that for the monthly concession pass for seniors and persons with disabilities will decrease from $58 to $55.

Concession passes for low-wage workers will also be priced lower at $92, down from $96.

The price reductions will benefit 16,500 adults, 28,800 seniors, 2,600 low-wage workers and 1,000 persons with disabilities who are already using monthly passes.

In addition, the lower prices could potentially benefit an additional 106,600 heavy users of public transport, according to PTC. They consist of 44,200 adults, 58,900 seniors, 2,500 low-wage workers and 1,000 persons with disabilities.

PTC said the lower prices could encourage this group of commuters to consider using such monthly passes to better manage their public transport expenditure.

Prices of other monthly passes, including that for students and full-time national servicemen, will remain unchanged.

Q: What support can I get with the increases in fares?

A: The Government will provide further assistance to lower-income residents – with a monthly household income per member of less than $1,800 – through public transport vouchers valued at $60 each.

These residents can use the vouchers to top up their fare cards or purchase monthly passes after Dec 27.

By end-December, eligible residents who had received public transport vouchers during the 2024 fare exercise and continue to meet the income eligibility criterion will automatically receive a new voucher. Eligible households will receive notification letters via post or text message.

Eligible households that did not receive notification letters for the public transport vouchers in December can apply for these vouchers online or in-person at community centres from early 2026.

Upon receiving the notification letter, households can follow the instructions in the letter to redeem their voucher using the SimplyGo app or at any SimplyGo kiosk or ticket office.

Vouchers for the 2025 exercise will be valid for redemption until March 31, 2027.

Rail operators SBS Transit and SMRT will contribute 20 per cent of their expected increase in revenue from the price hikes to the Public Transport Fund, from which the Government is recommended to draw funds for the vouchers.

Their contributions will amount to $10.65 million in total, with SBS Transit Rail providing $3.52 million and SMRT Trains $7.13 million.