Are our fares fair? | What Do You Think?
Following the recent announcement of public transport fare adjustments, we hit the streets to find out what Singaporeans thought of it.
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00:00Obviously, it's normal for prices to increase as operating costs go up.
00:04That's the way it is.
00:05The higher the price, the higher the cost.
00:08The standard living of Singapore is very high now.
00:10Singapore's public transport fares will increase at the end of this year,
00:14as announced by the Public Transport Council.
00:17But have you ever wondered how these fare adjustments are calculated?
00:21The PTC uses a fare adjustment formula
00:23which calculates the maximum amount that fares can change each year.
00:27The formula aims to reflect changes in the cost of providing public transport.
00:32This ensures that any fare adjustment is reasonable
00:35and balances the interests of commuters and transport operators.
00:38The elements in the formula reflect changes in operating costs,
00:42wages and energy costs
00:44derived from indices like the Core Consumer Price Index,
00:47Wage Index and Energy Index.
00:49In years where there are sharp increases in the cost indices of the fare formula,
00:54the PTC can exercise the discretion to defer part of the fare increase
00:57to the next fare review exercise.
00:59This is to balance between ensuring that fares keep pace with costs
01:03and that fare increases are not too high on a year-to-year basis.
01:07For example, in 2022, amid the rising cost of living,
01:11the PTC implemented a 2.9% fare increase
01:14out of the 13.5% maximum quantum.
01:17The remaining amount was deferred to future years.
01:20Similarly, a 7% fare increase was implemented in 2023,
01:24with the remaining 15.6% points deferred to future years.
01:28For this year's fare review exercise, to keep fares affordable,
01:31the PTC has opted to continue deferring the majority of the fare adjustment quantum
01:35to future years.
01:37Following this news, we wanted to hear Singaporeans' thoughts
01:40about such fare adjustments and whether our fares are indeed fair.
01:43Yeah, I do take the transport regularly.
01:45I usually go to school through buses.
01:48Almost daily when I go out.
01:50Yes, I take regularly.
01:51A couple of days ago, just yesterday, there was an increase of $0.10, right?
01:56You mean about the $0.10 fare increase?
01:58I heard yesterday from the news.
02:00Obviously, it's normal for prices to increase as operating costs go up.
02:05I don't mind it.
02:06If it's unreasonable, you know, like maybe $50 per trip like that,
02:11yeah, maybe I will argue about it.
02:14I mean, that's too much, you see.
02:16Every year, I've been seeing increasing the transport fare going up and going down.
02:21Some people can, I mean, can afford, some people cannot afford.
02:25So, I think it's a good thing.
02:27I think it's a good thing.
02:29I think it's a good thing.
02:30I think it's a good thing.
02:32Some people can, I mean, can afford, some people cannot afford.
02:36The standard living of Singapore is very high now.
02:38Yeah, of course.
02:40Operating costs, you have to have operating costs to run the whole transportation.
02:44But as we can say, it's public transport.
02:47So, it must always remain affordable.
02:49Yeah, everything goes up and then, I'm not working,
02:53but I think those working, they always complain that salary didn't go up.
02:57I just assume it's for the best for everyone.
03:01For us as citizens, so, I think it's fair.
03:05Yeah, it helps to maintain the cleanliness of the buses, the public transport,
03:08so that we can have a very comfortable ride.
03:10That, I'm not too sure about it.
03:11I don't know how much.
03:12I bought 20 dollars each time, and gave him a discount.
03:16It's about half a month.
03:17Yes, I think I've read about them somewhere around the internet.
03:21Yes, yes.
03:23That's one part of the good of the government.
03:25They subsidise to help the lower-income people on transport.
03:30Subsidiary, get concessions, bus passes and all that, you see.
03:34Yeah, I'm aware of it.
03:35Actually, in fact, my son is in the army, he has a pass.
03:38My daughter is also a student, she's using it.
03:42Yeah, I have one.
03:43I'm a senior citizen, of course.
03:45I'm a senior citizen, so I have a concession on that.
03:48Of the people we interviewed,
03:508 out of 10 said that it was reasonable for fares to increase
03:53due to rising operating costs over the past few years.
03:56Figures from the PTC show that the proportion of monthly household income
04:00spent on public transport by average public transport users
04:04has decreased from 2.2% in 2013 to 1.7% in 2023.
04:09Lower-income households saw a similar fall from 3.1% in 2013 to 2.4% in 2023.
04:16What this means is that public transport fares have had a lesser impact
04:20on household income over the years.
04:22This could be due to several reasons,
04:24one of which may be the rise in household incomes over the past 10 years.
04:28As fares have not increased faster than incomes,
04:31the percentage that households spend on public transport monthly has fallen.
04:36Secondly, public transport is subsidised.
04:38The government provides over $2 billion annually in subsidies.
04:42In the past three years, where the fare quantum was deferred,
04:45the government provided additional subsidies.
04:48This equates to more than $1 for every journey.
04:51Some of those interviewed also recognised that there were support measures
04:55for lower-income households such as public transport vouchers,
04:58as well as concession schemes available to keep fares affordable
05:02for low-wage workers, seniors, students and persons with disabilities.
05:07While some respondents did not find the fare adjustments reasonable
05:10because it has been rising annually in tandem with the cost of living,
05:14adding another burden to consider,
05:16a majority of them felt it was reasonable
05:18as long as this increase is put towards things like improving public transport
05:22and maintaining its safety and cleanliness.
05:25Also consider this,
05:26fares are adjusted to meet higher operating costs
05:29and pay our transport workers well.
05:31So, what do you think?