The Public Transport Council (PTC) is an independent regulatory statutory board under the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

of the

Government of Singapore The government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore, Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to consist of the President of Singapore, President and the Executive. Executive authority of Singapore is vested in the Presi ...

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.

Schemes

Free Pre-Peak Travel

In 2013, the PTC introduced the Free Pre-Peak Travel ( FPPT) scheme to encourage commuters to make their morning travels earlier. The FPPT gave free trips to commuters who exited 18 city area stations before 7.45am on weekdays. In 2017, after four years of the scheme, about seven percent of morning peak hours travels was shifted out of the morning peak hours. On 30 October 2017, after the 2017 Fare Review Exercise, PTC announced the scheme to be terminated on 29 December 2017.

Off-Peak Pass

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. On 30 October 2017, after the 2017 Fare Review Exercise, PTC announced the trial to be terminated on 29 December 2017.

Criticisms

As the public transport fare regulator, the council was criticised on various occasions when it approved fare hike proposals from public transport operators. Some of its policies are deemed as pro-operators rather than pro-commuters. As such, the

Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...

called for the dissolution of the council in favour of a not-for-profit corporation in the leadup to the 2006 general elections.

Fare adjustments

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. In April 2023, the PTC announced a change in the fare formula in its review which is done every five years. During Parliament in November,

's Member of Parliament (MP) Louis Chua and

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (PAP) is a major Conservatism, conservative political party in Singapore and is the governing contemporary political party represented in the Parliament of Singapore, followed by the opposition Workers' Party of Singap ...

MP,

Don Wee Don Wee Boon Hong ( zh, s=黄文鸿, p=Huáng Wénhóng; born 1976) is a Singaporean accountant and former politician. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Brickland ...

, suggested either removing deferred fare increase or freezing fare hike but was rebutted by acting Minister of Transport, Chee Hong Tat, that the proposals were “not sound” and “populist”. The table chart major changes in fare :

References

External links

* {{Authority control Statutory boards of the Singapore Government Public transport in Singapore 1987 establishments in Singapore Government agencies established in 1987 Regulation in Singapore