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Free pre-peak travel and off-peak pass trials for Singapore's train network have been extended until the end of 2017 as the Public Transport Council (PTC) reviews the schemes, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) announced on Friday (Jun 23). 【Calling for all Talents from Asia!】 The free pre-peak travel and off-peak pass trials were supposed to end on Jun 30 and Jul 4 this year, respectively. They were first introduced in 2013 and 2015 to incentivise off-peak travel on public transport, the MOT said. Under the free pre-peak travel scheme, commuters who end their journey before 7.45am on weekdays at 18 designated MRT stations in the city area enjoy free travel on the rail network. Those who exit between 7.45am to 8am get a discount of up to S$0.50 off their train fare. The 18 designated stations are Bayfront, Bras Basah, Bugis, Chinatown, City Hall, Clarke Quay, Dhoby Ghaut, Downtown, Esplanade, Lavender, Marina Bay, Orchard, Outram Park, Promenade, Raffles Place, Somerset, Tanjong Pagar and Telok Ayer. As for the off-peak pass scheme, this allows commuters to have unlimited rides on the public transport network everyday except during peak hours on weekdays. Monthly passes for adult Singapore citizens and permanent residents are at S$80, while those for people with disabilities and senior citizens are at S$40. The Transport Ministry said that besides these two schemes, several other measures to enhance public transport capacity such as the addition of new MRT lines, trains and buses have also been implemented.
The Downtown Line, which adds 42km to the MRT network, will open fully later this year. Re-signalling of the North-South Line and the East-West Line will also be complete in 2017 and 2018, respectively, enabling up to 20 per cent more trains to run during peak periods if necessary, MOT said. In addition, 112 trains have been added to the MRT network and 29 train-cars to the LRT network since 2011, with another 22 new trains to be introduced by 2019, and 1,000 buses will have been put onto the roads since 2012 by this year, the ministry added. Given these enhancements, the MOT said it was "timely to take stock and review the effectiveness and continued necessity of the (trials)". This is why the ministry has asked the PTC to review the trials, which it will do in parallel with the fare review exercise later this year and findings will be announced by the end of 2017. |
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