Singapore's LTA puts a pause on SimplyGo transition

This is in response to feedback and concerns by commuters who wish to continue seeing how much balance they have in their card, on the readers displayed in buses or at MRT stations.

Singapore's Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) have decided to temporarily pause the transition to the SimplyGo card.

According to Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat, this is in response to feedback and concerns by commuters who wish to continue seeing how much balance they have in their card, on the readers displayed in buses or at MRT stations.

In a Facebook post today (22 January 2024), Minister Chee apologised on behalf of LTA and MOT for the delays commuters had experienced when trying to convert their existing EZ-Link cards. 

He said: "We have decided to extend the use of the current CBT (card-based ticketing) system for adult commuters, and not to sunset the system in 2024 as originally planned." 

Minister Chee added that the government will be spending an additional S$40mn for commuters to be able to use their EZ-Link cards and NETS Flashpay cards should they wish to.

In a follow-up Facebook post, LTA shared that the existing adult CBT system will run in parallel with the current SimplyGo system. 

Here's what commuters need to take note of:

Minister Chee assured commuters that the LTA will allow commuters who had bought or converted to SimplyGo cards from 9 January 2024 to today (22 January 2024) to switch back to CBT cards at no additional charge.

In addition, concession card holders with SimplyGo cards that were issued or converted on or before 22 January 2024, including seniors and students, can also do so.

An excerpt of Minister Chee's post:

"Account-based ticketing (ABT) cards like SimplyGo and bank cards (e.g. credit and debit cards) have their benefits. If a commuter misplaces his registered ABT stored value card, the balance can be protected because the value is stored in the user’s account. Whereas if they lose a CBT card, the value stored in the card will be lost. Some people buy ABT stored value cards for their family members, so that they can top up the value more conveniently using the SimplyGo app. In addition, ABT enables commuters to use bank cards and mobile wallets to pay public transport fares. Over time, ABT cards have grown more popular. About 40% of adult commuters now use bank cards or mobile wallets (see attached infographic).

"However, because ABT cards do not store fares and card balance data in the card itself, it would take a few seconds to retrieve the information from the backend system to display at the fare gates and bus card readers. This would slow down the flow of commuters and cause long queues, especially during peak hours. Unfortunately, there is currently no technical solution to this. This is the case elsewhere too. For example, ABT cards in London and Hong Kong also do not display fare deductions and card balances at fare gates, unlike their CBT cards.

"I have tasked LTA to study ways to enhance the features and improve the user experience for ABT cards, in particular possible solutions for ABT cards to display fare deductions and stored value card balances at fare gates and bus card readers."

View the full post here. 

READ MORE: FAQs on Singapore's SimplyGo initiative

Lead image / Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat's Facebook