When is a fare hike a fare cut?

How can a fare hike be a fare cut?

Impossible? Not in Singapore.

The Straits Times reports public transport fares will dip by 2.5 per cent from July 3, but savings will vary from commuter to commuter.

The fact is fares are going up — appreciably for longer journeys. While the minimum fare for the first 3.2km on an airconditioned bus is going up by just two cents from 69 cents to 71 cents, commuters will have to pay up to 10 cents more for every kilometre after that. And it is going to make a difference.

The longest trip now on an air-conditioned bus with an EZ-link card costs S$1.65 cents, according to the SBS Transit website.

The same trip with the same card will cost S$1.94 from July 3, according to the Public Transport Council.

And yet it issued a press release headlined, 2.5 per cent fare reduction in bus and train fares and introduction of distance fares on 3 July 2010. (You can download the report here: it includes the new fares.)

Whoever came up with the headline was obviously in a hurry — or he or she wouldn't have written "2.5 per cent fare reduction in bus and train fares".

But how does a fare hike become a fare cut?

Sorry, my mistake. I was looking at specific numbers and not the big picture, which allowed the Public Transport Council to conclude:

Based on the current pattern of public transport journeys, two in three commuters will see a reduction or no change in their weekly public transport expenditure.

For the 63 per cent of commuters who will see fare savings, they will save an average of $0.48 a week (or $25 a year). The 34 per cent of commuters who will see an increase in their public transport expenditure will see an average increase of $0.31 a week (or $16 a year).

So, fares will go up for a minority, even according to the Public Transport Council.

That's not a fare cut.

And will the Public Transport Council please explain how two in three commuters won't have to pay more despite the fare hike?

It can't be that two-thirds of the commuters travel only 3.2 km or less. Singapore is small, but not that small.

One possible explanation is that commuters will save money when they change buses or trains.

The transfer rebate — which is now being called a "transfer fare penalty" (note the change in language) — will be scrapped.

The new fare structure "will allow commuters to make transfers without incurring additional cost", says the press release.

So when you change buses or trains, you won't get any rebate.

And, apparently, that is how you will save money.

Hmm, interesting.

Hang on a minute.

Commuters most likely to transfer are those who take the train to work. They take the bus to the interchange to board a train.

Both bus and train fares are going up.

The shortest train ride — say, from Newton to Orchard — now costs 68 cents with an EZ-link Card. That will cost 71 cents from July 3.

The difference is small.

But it's certainly not a fare cut.

The Public Transport Council must have done a survey, based on which it concluded two out of three commuters won't have to spend more on transport despite the new fares.

Why not show the survey for greater transparency?

I was amused to see the press release showed only the new — and not the current — fares.

Why?

Because we will compare them?

Actually, it's hard to compare the new fares with what we pay now.

For currently fares are calculated in stages. This is what the SBS Transit website shows.

The new so-called "distance fares" are calculated in kilometres. So, to make any comparison, you have to know the length of a stage — the distance it covers.

The SBS Transit website helpfully doesn't state the length of a stage on the page which shows the fare chart.

Nor does the Public Transport Council press release.

So you will have to take it at its word that the new fares won't add to most people's transport costs.

For what it's worth, here are the new bus fares.

• Share this:
• Share