Commencement of 2018 Fare Review Exercise

The Public Transport Council (PTC) has commenced the annual 2018 Fare Review Exercise (FRE).  

2. Over the past five years, more than 1000 new buses were introduced through the Bus Service Enhancement Programme and Bus Contracting Model, and more than 200 new trains were injected to augment the public transport capacity. The costs of which were borne by the Government. The Government has also committed to spending $5 billion to subsidise public bus services, $4 billion to renew rail operating assets and an additional $20 billion on new public transport civil infrastructure over the next five years. 

3. The PTC has reduced fares by a total of 8.3% for the previous three consecutive years, largely due to the continued double-digit dip in energy prices . Energy prices in 2017, which will be factored in the fare formula  this year, rebounded by 26.2% over the previous year. The other macroeconomic price indices in the fare formula have also increased over the past year. The Wage Index, a proxy for the wage growth of public transport workers like bus captains and rail staff went up by 3%, while the core Consumer Price Index rose by 1.5%, the highest increase in three years. The Network Capacity Factor (NCF) of 3% balances commuter demand and public transport capacity enhancements and reflects the effort to provide commuters with more convenient and less crowded rides over the last year. More than two-thirds of the NCF was contributed by bus capacity improvements. 

4. Based on the new fare formula applicable from 2018 to 2022 and taking into account the carry-over quantum of -3.2% from the 2017 FRE, the maximum allowable fare adjustment quantum to be considered for 2018 FRE is 4.3%. Public transport operators may submit their fare applications to the PTC by 1 October 2018 for consideration. 

5. The PTC will deliberate on these matters and announce its decision on the fare adjustment quantum in the last quarter of 2018. Ultimately, the PTC will continue to keep public transport fares affordable to commuters, while ensuring that the public transport system remains financially sustainable. 

[Download] 3 Sep 2018 - FRE Commencement Press Release [PDF, 1MB] [PDF, 1.04 MB]