After an annual review, the Public Transport Council (PTC) has approved an increase in adult bus and MRT fares by S$0.09 to S$0.10 per journey.
In a news release on Tuesday (14 Oct), it said that this would take effect on 27 Dec.
As for concession card fares, they will remain unchanged only within the first fare band, i.e. a journey of 3.2km or shorter.
For journeys longer than 3.2km, the concession card fares will increase by S$0.03 to S$0.04.
More than one-third of concession fare journeys, or about 450,000, are currently 3.2 km or shorter, PTC noted.
Thus, keeping fares at the same level will benefit cardholders who depend on public transport for short trips to school, work, or nearby amenities.
This time round, fares paid in cash will also increase, reflecting the higher operating costs of cash handling, PTC said.
They will go up by S$0.05 per journey for students, S$0.10 for seniors and persons with disabilities, and S$0.20 for adults and other commuters.
PTC noted that it last adjusted cash fares in 2023, though commuters paid cash for less than 1% of all public transport journeys.
A summary of the increases is as follows:
Source: Public Transport Council
At the same time, express bus fares will also go up, with adults paying S$0.49 to S$0.50 more in total.
This includes a S$0.40 premium for express bus services, which cost more to operate.
Likewise, concession cardholders will pay S$0.20 to S$0.24 more, including a S$0.20 premium.
Source: Public Transport Council
Cash payments on express bus services, where all commuters pay the same amount, will jump by S$0.60.
PTC said express bus services give commuters faster trips from the heartlands to the city than basic services, and it has not adjusted the fare difference since 2010.
However, some prices are decreasing — that of monthly passes for adults and seniors.
PTC said the government will reduce pass prices by S$6 and S$3 respectively, or up to 5%.
The Government will also reduce the prices of monthly passes for workfare transport concession cardholders and persons with disabilities.
155,000 commuters will benefit from this, PTC added, and the prices for all other monthly passes will be unchanged.
PTC encouraged those who use public transport frequently to buy monthly passes, as this is a way to cap their public transport expenses.
Overall, bus and MRT fares will increase by 5.0% this year — less than the maximum allowable fare adjustment quantum of 14.4%.
The amount of increase is also less than that of 2024 (6.0%) and 2023 (7.0%).
While the 2025 Fare Review Exercise (FRE) derived a 1.5% fare adjustment formula for this year, an additional 12.9% was deferred from previous years, resulting in a maximum adjustment of 14.4%.
Thus, the overall fare increase of 5.0% for this year will cushion commuters from the full fare increase as the PTC “understands that cost of living remains a concern for Singaporeans”, it said.
The reduced deferred fare quantum of 9.4% (from 12.9%) will be considered at future FREs, it added.
The Government will help commuters moderate the fare increase, while still accounting for the higher costs of public transport provision.
In a press release on Tuesday (14 Oct), the Ministry of Transport (MOT) said it would provide more than S$200 million in subsidies.
This will cover the cost of “deferring the remaining 9.4%-points of allowable fare adjustment to next year’s FRE”, it added.
The Government will also disburse Public Transport Vouchers (PTVs) worth S$60 each to lower-income households.
Commuters can use these to top up fare cards or buy monthly passes after the public transport fare increase.
Households that are eligible for PTVs should have a monthly income of not more than S$1,800 per person.
The first stage of the PTV exercise will start by the end of 2025.
Also read: MRT rail reliability sees 4% dip in Aug 2025, Downtown & North-East Lines saw sharpest drop
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Featured image from MS News.