According to a self-conducted survey by the Public Transport Council (PTC), the Singapore government claimed that Singapore has one of the cheapest transport fares in the world just only more expensive than Taipei, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
The survey covering 35 cities conducted by government university Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) claimed that Singapore commuters only pay S$0.77 as minimum fare, but deliberately left out the distance to skew the data. There is also no reference to purchasing power as a commuter might pay more in Australia, the average Australian citizen on a Minimum Wage earns at least four times as much as a Singaporean low wage worker does.
SIM also published another measurement, using 10km as a reference distance, and claimed that Singapore at S$1.33 is the 6th cheapest among the 35 cities.
PTC said that they refer to such surveys to determine the pricing of public transport fares, hinting that they might be raising fares as Singapore fares are “too cheap”:
“The survey findings would be used as a benchmark to monitor Singapore’s public transport fares.”
PTC Chairman Richard Magnus claimed in a blog post that this survey is proof why public transport fares in Singapore is “affordable”:
“We will continue to conduct such comparison studies, to ensure that we are kept abreast of international fare trends and uphold PTC’s commitment to keep fares affordable for our commuters, while ensuring the sustainability of our public transport system.”