Free off-peak MRT, LRT rides for commuters in north-east S’pore from Dec 27 to ease morning crowds

SINGAPORE – Passengers in Singapore’s north-east will soon not pay anything for their first rail ride – if they tap in at six stations on the North East Line (NEL) or the Sengkang-Punggol LRT (SPLRT) system during morning off-peak hours.

This is part of the Government’s latest push to reduce train congestion during the morning rush hour.

From Dec 27, the free rides will apply to passengers who enter the NEL’s Punggol Coast, Punggol, Sengkang, Buangkok, Hougang or Kovan stations or the SPLRT before 7.30am, or between 9am and 9.45am on weekdays, excluding public holidays.

It will also be easier to join

an existing rewards scheme encouraging north-east passengers to change their travel modes or times to avoid the morning peak.

The move to nudge passengers to avoid the rush hour via free train rides is meant to ease the load on the crowded NEL so that other commuters will see “fewer missed trains”, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Oct 18.

Announcing the moves at Punggol Coast Bus Interchange on the same day, Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said it will operate as a pilot scheme for at least a year and the results will be evaluated.

Passengers do not need to register for the free rail rides, as long as they tap in and out using the same fare card or payment mode, said LTA.

The authority told The Straits Times the Government will fund the scheme fully, and that it will not contribute to future fare increases. The cost of the scheme will depend on the extent passengers adjust their travel patterns, LTA said.

It is also separate from the upcoming public transport fare changes announced recently, added LTA.

From Dec 27, fares will

, with adult card fares rising by nine or 10 cents for each bus or train journey.

This is the second time free rail rides are being offered in Singapore to ease congestion.

The first was between 2013 and 2017, when the Public Transport Council (PTC) offered free train rides to commuters who exited MRT stations in the city area before 7.45am. It led to about 7 per cent of commuters shifting their travel away from the morning peak period.

Mr Siow said the hope is for the same proportion of commuters to shift their travel patterns this time around.

Besides those entering via the six NEL stations or the SPLRT, other commuters will still get the existing 50-cent discount off their rail trips when they tap in before 7.45am at any station islandwide on weekdays.

This discount is offered under the PTC’s morning pre-peak fares scheme, rolled out in 2017.

The NEL typically sees heavy use during peak hours.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who is also an MP for Punggol GRC, said residents have given him feedback about the line becoming “very heavily loaded” for reasons such as population growth and the return to workplaces after the pandemic.

Mr Siow said in a written parliamentary reply in September that most passengers are able to board the first train that arrives at a station.

However, during the peak hour, some may have to wait an extra two minutes to board the second train.

Public transport company SBS Transit, which operates the NEL and SPLRT, operates up to 40 NEL trains during the peak hours of 7.30am to 9.30am, up from 36 trains in 2024, added Mr Siow.

Also from Dec 27, LTA will remove the eligibility criteria for commuters to join the TSJ programme, which offers rebates of up to 80 per cent of the journey fare on selected public transport trips.

Currently, the TSJ awards points to commuters who adjust their commute to take the NEL at off-peak hours or switch to City Direct Services, which are buses that ply express routes between housing estates and the city. These points can be redeemed for credit to offset their transport fares.

At present, to qualify for the programme, passengers must have tapped in at any of the six selected NEL stations or any SPLRT stop between 7.15am and 8.45am on at least six days over the past 30 days. This is to prove that they regularly use the rail lines during the morning peak period.

With the change, commuters no longer have to do so and can join the TSJ immediately on registration via the SimplyGo app and adding a travel card to their account.

LTA said it recognised that a broader base of participants could help ease crowding, and that removing the eligibility criteria would allow more passengers to benefit.

The eligible windows for the rebates will also be changed starting Dec 27, to line up with the new scheme offering free rail rides.

To get the 80 per cent rebate on their bus journeys, commuters will need to start their trips before 7.30am, instead of the current requirement of before 7.15am. Those who start their bus and train trips between 8.45 and 8.59am will no longer be eligible for rebates, as LTA nudges passengers to shift their commutes beyond 9am.

The 80 per cent rebate will also be given to those who travel by bus between 9am and 9.45am.

The changes mean passengers travelling during morning off-peak hours will get to ride free on trains, and receive an 80 per cent rebate on the bus portion of their journey under the TSJ.

From mid-December,

will be introduced under the TSJ.

LTA said these services will connect residents in Hougang, Sengkang and Punggol to the central business district and the Orchard shopping precinct. More details will be made known in November.

These services come on top of the 12 bus services under the programme now, including City Direct Services 675, 676, 677 and 678.

The TSJ programme began in 2020 as a trial with residents using the Punggol, Sengkang and Buangkok MRT stations and the SPLRT heading towards eastern Singapore. It initially focused on encouraging commuters to switch from MRT to bus travel during peak hours, and was expanded to more bus services in 2023.

On Jan 2, 2025, more bus services were added, and the reward point scheme was extended to cover train journeys for the first time.

LTA told ST that from January to September, about 8,000 passengers benefited from incentives totalling around $370,000 by shifting their commutes on the NEL or switching their journeys to bus services under the programme.

On Oct 18, DPM Gan, Mr Siow, Senior Minister of State for Transport Sun Xueling, and Punggol GRC MP Yeo Wan Ling officially opened the Punggol Coast Bus Interchange, which

The interchange is Singapore’s 15th integrated transport hub. It is connected to NEL’s Punggol Coast station, as well as Punggol Coast Mall.