More rides on MRT in 2025 as LRT use fell; bus ride numbers still below pre-Covid-19 levels
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
MRT ridership climbed 2.29 per cent to 3.49 million daily trips in 2025 from 3.41 million in 2024 – an increase of roughly 78,000 trips a day.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
- In 2025, Singapore's MRT ridership increased by 2.29% to 3.49 million daily trips, while LRT ridership saw a slight decline to 209,000, according to LTA.
- Bus ridership saw a slight increase to 3.841 million trips daily, but remained below pre-Covid-19 levels of 4.1 million trips recorded in 2019.
- Private-hire car rides rose to 460,000 daily, above pre-pandemic figures, while taxi ridership continued to decline to 166,000 daily rides.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Ridership on the MRT and public buses continued to rise in 2025, though bus use remained below pre-pandemic levels, according to the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Jan 30.
MRT ridership climbed 2.29 per cent to 3.49 million daily trips in 2025 from 3.41 million in 2024 – an increase of roughly 78,000 trips a day.
Bus ridership averaged 3.841 million trips a day in 2025, up slightly from 3.837 million in 2024 – an increase of 0.1 per cent, or about 4,000 additional trips daily. In 2019, buses carried an average of 4.1 million trips a day.
Singapore’s MRT and LRT ridership had surpassed pre-pandemic levels in 2024.
LRT ridership fell slightly in 2025, marking its first year-on-year decline since 2020. Average daily LRT rides dropped to 209,000, down from 210,000 in 2024.
Associate Professor Raymond Ong, a transport infrastructure researcher at the National University of Singapore, attributed the modest rise in bus ridership to continued remote work. He added that overall bus use still exceeds MRT ridership, reflecting sustained demand.
On rail use, Prof Ong said MRT ridership may have edged up following the 2024 opening of the fourth stage of the Thomson-East Coast Line between Tanjong Rhu and Bayshore, though the impact was limited. “We are not talking about a dramatic improvement (in connectivity) in new areas,” he said, noting that gains in MRT ridership often come at the expense of buses.
Buses are now increasingly about coverage and first- and last-mile connectivity, rather than maximising passenger volumes, said Dr Samuel Chng, head of the Urban Psychology Lab at the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities at SUTD.
He added that as the MRT network reaches “a point of maturity”, where it is more interconnected, ridership can keep growing.
Regarding the dip in LRT use, Dr Chng said that while LRT systems are highly localised and ridership is largely stable year on year, they are sensitive to small neighbourhood shifts.
Prof Ong, though, suggested improved bus connectivity as a possible factor.
Associate Professor Walter Theseira, a transport economist at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said public transport ridership is likely to remain permanently lower for the current population and economy.
Changes in work and leisure patterns – such as permanent flexible work arrangements and increased use of delivery services – have reduced the need to travel, he noted.
He added that ridership alone is not the right measure of public transport’s success. “The business of public transport isn’t to get riders but to serve the needs of the public,” said Prof Theseira.
If people work more flexibly or do not need to travel for their daily activities, that is a positive development, he said.
Active mobility options, such as cycling or walking, can also replace public transport locally, and that too is beneficial, he added.
Fewer people are taking taxis
LTA on Jan 30 also released ridership figures for the point-to-point transport sector comprising taxis and private-hire cars, which saw an overall increase even as taxis recorded fewer rides.
At 460,000, the number of daily rides in private-hire cars in 2025 was 6.7 per cent above the 431,000 in 2024.
It is also up from the 397,000 trips in 2023, and 9.8 per cent up from the pre-Covid-19 figure of 419,000 rides in 2019.
Taxi ridership continued to slide. The average daily taxi ridership of 166,000 was lower than the 187,000 clocked in 2024. In 2023, this figure was 209,000, and in 2019, the figure was 353,000.
The point-to-point sector saw an overall increase in average daily ridership in 2025 with 626,000, up from the 2024 figure of 618,000 but below the 772,000 rides in 2019.
The three largest taxi companies by fleet size all saw their fleets shrink.
As at December 2025, ComfortDelGro, which operates Comfort and CityCab, had 7,602 taxis, down from 8,424 a year earlier, a 9.8 per cent drop.
The size of Trans-Cab’s fleet fell 6.2 per cent to 1,948, from 2,076 in December 2024.
Strides Premier had 1,789 taxis as at December 2025, down from the 2,059 it had in December 2024.
On the other hand, Singapore’s sixth and newest taxi operator, GrabCab, began operations in June
Under the terms of its street-hail operator licence, GrabCab has three years to progressively expand its fleet to meet the minimum requirement of 800 cabs.
As at December 2025, the number of individually owned yellow-top cabs on Singapore’s roads had fallen to five, down from 14 a year earlier.
Prof Ong attributed the decline in taxi numbers to an ageing driver population, as well as a shift towards ride-hailing apps and private-hire vehicles.
Dr Chng also noted that passenger preferences have shifted towards app-based bookings, which offer greater certainty, transparency and a stronger sense of control.
