Take-up Rates for Public Transport Vouchers
Ministry of TransportSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Public Transport Voucher (PTV) take-up rates and their effectiveness in offsetting costs, as raised by Mr Saktiandi Supaat. Minister of State Jeffrey Siow reported a 72% take-up rate for the 2025 exercise and highlighted improvements like automatic issuance for past beneficiaries and streamlined online applications. He noted that PTVs cover about six months of fare increases, supplemented by over $2 billion in annual subsidies and additional funding to defer fare hikes. Affordability has improved, with lower-income households' transport spending as a percentage of income falling from 3.1% in 2015 to 2.4% in 2024. Those requiring more support can apply for extra vouchers at Community Centres or utilize targeted concessions and monthly passes.
Transcript
94 Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Acting Minister for Transport (a) what are the Public Transport Voucher take-up rates since January 2020; (b) how is its effectiveness in offsetting commuting cost pressure evaluated; and (c) whether there are plans to further enhance transport affordability support beyond the current $60 voucher benefit.
Mr Jeffrey Siow: In the exercise that concluded in October 2025, about 360,000 Public Transport Vouchers (PTVs) were issued, which is 72% of the 500,000 eligible households.
To improve take-up rates, we have enhanced the application process in recent years. First, we no longer require past beneficiaries to re-submit an application each year – their household receives PTVs as long as they remain eligible based on the criteria for that year. Second, for newly eligible households or those who had not applied for PTVs in the past, we have introduced online applications so they can submit applications almost year-round, either online or in-person as preferred. We have further enhanced the online application process such that eligible households that apply online are immediately informed of their successful application and can redeem the vouchers more quickly after receiving them via SMS.
PTVs cover roughly half a year of fare increases for a typical household of two adults and two concession cardholders. Households who require more support can request additional vouchers through their Community Centres or Clubs.
In addition to PTVs, the Government provides over $2 billion in annual subsidies to fund bus and train services. In recent years, the Government has also provided additional subsidies of $200 to $300 million, which has allowed the Public Transport Council to defer the bulk of the fare increases in recent years. Discounted fares and monthly passes are also available for concession groups, including Workfare recipients. Our public transport fares are one of the lowest in the world and have become more affordable over the past decade. For lower-income households, the proportion of household income spent on public transport has fallen, from 3.1% in 2015, to 2.4% in 2024. For average public transport users, the figure has also fallen, from 2.2% in 2015, to 1.7% in 2024.