Agency overview | |
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Formed | 14 August 1987 |
Jurisdiction | Government of Singapore |
Headquarters | 510 Thomson Road, SLF Building #12-03, Singapore 298135 |
Agency executives |
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Parent agency | Ministry of Transport |
Website | Official website |
The Public Transport Council (PTC) is an independent regulatory statutory board under the Ministry of Transport of the Government of Singapore established on 14 August 1987 by the Public Transport Council Act of 1987.
PTC regulates the public bus and rapid transit network in areas such as fares and service standards. Moreover, PTC is permitted to grant and alter bus service licences and provides advice to the Ministry of Transportation on matters such as licensee requirements and the imposition of sanctions against licensees who violate such requirements.
As announced by Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan, PTC will no longer be issuing penalties and fines despite multiple major breakdowns on the MRT system: "If you ask me, my preference is not to go back to this old system of penalties and fines because it created a very adversarial relationship between the regulator and the operator". [2] It is not known how the PTC is going to maintain service standards without imposing any penalties.
In 2013, the PTC introduced the Free Pre-Peak Travel ( FPPT) scheme to encourage commuters to make their morning travels earlier. [3] The FPPT gave free trips to commuters who exited 18 city area stations before 7.45am on weekdays. [3]
In 2017, after four years of the scheme, about seven percent of morning peak hours travels was shifted out of the morning peak hours. [3] On 30 October 2017, after the 2017 Fare Review Exercise, PTC announced the scheme to be terminated on 29 December 2017. [3]
In 2015, the PTC started a trial on the Off-Peak Pass (OPP) scheme which allows passengers unlimited travel during the weekday off peak periods on both the bus and train networks. [3] On 30 October 2017, after the 2017 Fare Review Exercise, PTC announced the trial to be terminated on 29 December 2017. [3]
As the public transport fare regulator, the council was criticised on various occasions when it approved fare hike proposals from public transport operators. [4] Some of its policies are deemed as pro-operators rather than pro-commuters. [5] As such, the Workers' Party called for the dissolution of the council in favour of a not-for-profit corporation in the leadup to the 2006 general elections. [6]
From 29 December 2017, commuters who started their journey on the rail network, before 7.45am on weekdays, get a discount of 50 cents or the amount of fare of the rail portion, whichever is lower. [3]
The table chart major changes in fare : [7]
Date | Change in fare | Notes | Reactions |
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1 October 2006 | 1.7% | Approved applications from transport operators SBS Transit and SMRT for an overall increase in bus and train fares of 1.7%. [8] PTC justified the increase in fares based on the positive economic outlook in 2006 and a comparison of average public transport fares across cities of Hong Kong, London and New York City which have higher fares. | Critics were however skeptical of PTC's justifications, pointing to flaws in the survey conducted by SMU where three quarters of respondents polled said fares were affordable. [9] [10] |
1 April 2009 | 4.6% | 4.6% reduction in bus and train fares. The reduction comprises a fare rebate (to 30 June 2010) and a transfer rebate. [11] | |
3 July 2010 | 2.5% | On 20 April 2010, the PTC granted an overall 2.5% reduction in bus and train fares which took effect on 3 July 2010 together with the introduction of distance fares. [12] | |
6 April 2014 | 3.2% | The typical fares were increased by 4–6 cents and student fares were increased by 2 cents. New concession schemes were implemented. | |
27 December 2015 | 1.9% | ||
30 December 2016 | 4.2% | ||
29 December 2018 | 4.3% | Fares were raised by 4.3% which took effect on 29 December 2018. [13] [14] | |
28 December 2019 | 7.0% | Fare increase is the highest percentage jump since 1998, caused by increasing energy costs. [15] | |
26 December 2021 | 2.2% | The increase is driven by soaring energy costs and a drop in ridership due to COVID-19 pandemic. [16] [17] | |
26 December 2022 | 2.6% | The fare increase is attributed to soaring energy prices from 2020 to 2021 and increase in manpower costs and inflation. [18] [19] |
Transport within Singapore is mainly land-based. Many parts of Singapore, including islands such as Sentosa and Jurong Island are accessible by road. The other major form of transportation within Singapore is rail: the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) which runs the length and width of Singapore, and the Light Rail Transit (LRT) which runs within a few neighbourhoods. The main island of Singapore is connected to the other islands by ferryboat services.
GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven million across an area over 11,000 square kilometres (4,200 sq mi) stretching from London in the west to Peterborough in the east, and from Barrie in the north to Niagara Falls in the south. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 35,234,400. GO Transit operates diesel-powered double-decker trains and coach buses, on routes that connect with all local and some long-distance inter-city transit services in its service area.
Exo, officially known as Réseau de transport métropolitain, is a public transport system in Greater Montreal, including the Island of Montreal, Laval, and communities along both the North Shore of the Mille Îles River and the South Shore of the St. Lawrence River. It was created on June 1, 2017, taking over from the Agence métropolitaine de transport. The RTM operates Montreal's commuter rail and metropolitan bus services, and is the second busiest such system in Canada after Toronto's GO Transit. In May 2018, the former Réseau de transport métropolitain (RTM) was branded as Exo.
The Mass Rapid Transit system, locally known by the initialism MRT, is a rapid transit system in Singapore and the island country's principal mode of railway transportation. The system commenced operations in November 1987 after two decades of planning with an initial 6 km (3.7 mi) stretch consisting of five stations. The network has since grown to span the length and breadth of the country's main island – with the exception of the forested core and the rural northwestern region – in accordance with Singapore's aim of developing a comprehensive rail network as the backbone of the country's public transportation system, averaging a daily ridership of 3.4 million in 2019.
The North East Line (NEL) is a high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Singapore. Operated by SBS Transit, the 20-kilometre (12 mi) line is the MRT's shortest. It runs from HarbourFront station in southern Singapore to Punggol station in the northeast, serving 16 stations via Chinatown, Little India, Serangoon and Hougang. Coloured purple on official maps, it is Singapore's third MRT line and the country's first fully-automated underground rail line.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Transport of the Government of Singapore.
A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: once in the morning and once in the afternoon or evening, the times during which the most people commute. The term is often used for a period of peak congestion that may last for more than one hour.
The EZ-Link card is a rechargeable contactless smart card and electronic money system that is primarily used as a payment method for public transport such as bus and rail lines in Singapore. A standard EZ-Link card is a credit-card-sized stored-value contact-less smart-card that comes in a variety of colours, as well as limited edition designs. It is sold by TransitLink Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of the Land Transport Authority (LTA), and can be used on travel modes across Singapore, including the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), the Light Rail Transit (LRT), public buses which are operated by SBS Transit, SMRT Buses, Tower Transit Singapore and Go-Ahead Singapore, as well as the Sentosa Express.
The Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT) is a 7.6-kilometre (4.7 mi) automated guideway transit line in Bukit Panjang, Singapore. The BPLRT is currently the only LRT line operated by SMRT Trains. As the name suggests, it serves 13 stations in the neighbourhood of Bukit Panjang and parts of Choa Chu Kang in the north-west of the country. The line was the first LRT line constructed in Singapore, having opened in 6 November 1999 by then Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan.
Jurong East MRT station is an elevated Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) interchange station on the North South (NSL) and East West (EWL) lines in Jurong East, Singapore, operated by SMRT Trains. It is located at the heart of Jurong Lake District, within the vicinity of JCube, Jem, Westgate, IMM, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Jurong East Bus Interchange.
Public buses form a significant part of public transport in Singapore, with over 3.6 million rides taken per day on average as of December 2021. There are 352 scheduled bus services, operated by SBS Transit, SMRT Buses, Tower Transit Singapore and Go-Ahead Singapore. The newest bus operator, Go-Ahead Singapore started operation on 4 September 2016. There are also around 5,800 buses currently in operation as of 2020.
The history of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system of Singapore commenced with its planning in the 1960s, which finally led to its opening in 1987 with the launch of the 6 km section of the North South Line from Yio Chu Kang to Toa Payoh.
Khaw Boon Wan is a Malaysian-born Singaporean former politician who served as Minister for Transport between 2015 and 2020, Minister for National Development between 2011 and 2015, and Minister for Health between 2003 and 2011. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Moulmein division of Tanjong Pagar GRC between 2001 and 2006, and the Sembawang division of Sembawang GRC between 2006 and 2020.
Taxis of Singapore come in two main varieties. Traditional taxi companies offer flag down and call bookings and their drivers are hired employees of the company. Ridesharing companies allow bookings through a smartphone, allowing ease for passengers, these are mostly known as private hire vehicles (PHV). Their apps also allow the flexibility to work and pick up passengers with their own vehicle, be it owned or rented, provided the various requirements are met depending on the company.
Because the rail operators are government-assisted profit-based corporations, fares and ticketing on Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system are currently aimed at least in breaking even to at least compensate for their costs of running the system. The rail operators collect fares by selling electronic tickets capable of storing data, the price of which is calculated based on the distance between the start and destination stations. These prices increase in fixed stages for standard non-concessionary travel. From the information that was earlier written in these tickets, it is possible to increase the fare according to increments based on approximate distances between stations.
Public transport ticketing in New South Wales, Australia operated using magnetic-stripe technology between 1989 and 2016. This ticketing system, known variously as the Automated fare collection system, STATS and, from 2010, MyZone, was progressively replaced by a contactless smart card called Opal between 2012 and 2016.
A penalty fare, standard fare, or fixed penalty notice is a special, usually higher, fare charged because a passenger using public transport did not comply with the normal ticket purchasing rules. It should not be confused with an unpaid fares notice.
The go card is an electronic smartcard ticketing system developed by Cubic Corporation, which is currently used on the TransLink public transport network in South East Queensland. To use the go card, users hold the card less than 10 cm away from the reader to "touch on" before starting a journey, and must do the same to "touch off" the service at the end of the journey. The cost of each journey is deducted from the go card balance.
The Bus Services Industry Act 2015 is a statute of the Parliament of Singapore that provide for the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to take over the regulation of the operators of bus services, depots and interchanges from the Public Transport Council (PTC).
VR commuter rail is a Finnish commuter rail system operated by VR – the national railway operator of Finland – under a public service obligation agreement with the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Finland. The operations are planned in trilateral co-operation between the ministry, the operator and various regional transport authorities.