Adult bus and train fares for adult commuters paying by card will increase by 12 to 13 cents from Dec 26.
A 12-cent increase will apply to public transport journeys of up to 3.2km, meaning the new baseline adult card fare will be $1.40, following the yearly fare review exercise by the Public Transport Council (PTC).
Meanwhile, trips farther than 3.2km will see a 13-cent price increase from the current fare. Commuters in concession groups, including students, seniors and people with disabilities, will also have their fares increase by 5 cents.
Cash payments, which make up less than 1 per cent of all journeys, will see fares increase by 20 cents for adult commuters and 10 cents for concession holders.
Overall, the fare adjustment for the year is 7 per cent — less than half of the maximum allowable 14.7 per cent quantum, PTC noted. The remaining 7.7 percentage points will be carried forward to future fare review exercises.
This is the largest overall fare adjustment since 2023, when fares were also raised by 7 per cent.
High energy prices
At a media conference on Tuesday (Sept 29), PTC chairperson Janet Ang said the biggest contributing factor to the higher fare formula output was the sharp increase in energy prices arising from the Middle East conflict.
Between July 2025 and June 2026, energy prices rose sharply by an average of 21 per cent across the 12 months, she revealed.
“We recognise that commuters are managing increases in their day-to-day expenses, and we therefore wanted to avoid imposing the full adjustment (of 14.7 per cent) at one go,” Ms Ang said.
The deferred fare quantum after this exercise stands at 7.7 per cent, with the Government providing close to S$200 million in additional subsidies in 2027 to cover the deferred fare adjustment quantum.
Public Transport Vouchers
Ang said the PTC has consistently sought to give more support to concession groups, which make up about 2 million individual riders, and frequent public transport users.
The price of monthly travel passes will also remain unchanged, after some monthly pass prices were reduced by up to 5 per cent in 2025. About 126,000 commuters are currently monthly pass users.
Based on data collected by PTC, about 110,000 additional commuters could reduce their transport costs if they switch to using a monthly travel pass after the new fares take effect, with average savings of about S$26 a month.
Additionally, about 190,000 lower-income individuals on the Workfare Transport Concession Scheme (WTCS) will continue to pay existing fares, with no change to their card fares.
The quantum of Public Transport Vouchers (PTV) issued to lower-income families will also be raised to S$80 from S$60, the Ministry of Transport and People’s Association said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
About 60,000 more households will also qualify for the PTV as the income eligibility ceiling will be increased from S$1,800 per capita to S$2,100.
The PTV will be automatically issued to households already registered under the scheme from end-December. New applications for the PTV will begin in early 2027.
Households will be able to use PTVs to top up fare cards or buy monthly passes.
As with past fare increases, public transport operators are required to contribute to the Public Transport Fund.
SBS Transit Rail and SMRT Trains will have to contribute 30 per cent of their expected increase in fare revenue for the 2026 review exercise, said PTC. Their combined contribution will amount to S$23.94 million.
“In determining this year’s fare adjustment, PTC sought to keep the increase manageable for commuters, while balancing the need to sustain the quality and reliability of our public transport system in the face of higher costs,” Ang said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Ultimately, our responsibility is to keep public transport affordable for commuters today, while ensuring that our public transport system is of high-quality and is financially sustainable for the years ahead.” ASIAONE
