We refer to Mr Goh Kian Huat’s letter, “To be fair, offer early-bird free rides at all MRT stations” (TODAY, 1 July 2016).

There are several travel demand management measures to help distribute ridership on our rail system. The Free Pre-Peak Travel scheme mentioned in Mr Goh’s letter, which applies for exits at 18 city-centre MRT stations, aims to ease crowding for the most crowded stretches of the MRT network during the morning peak hour (8am-9am). These are the city-bound stretches of the MRT network. The 7% shift in commuters travelling out of the peak hours, while modest, has helped distribute morning ridership and improve commuter experience, even as overall ridership has grown.  

For commuters who exit at stations outside the city centre, the Travel Smart Rewards programme incentivises commuters to do so during off-peak hours. These commuters can enjoy travel perks by accumulating points for cash rewards.

To further complement the Free Pre-Peak Travel scheme, LTA offers incentives to organisations under the Travel Smart Network to nudge their employees to travel off-peak. 

Finally, the Off-Peak Pass works well for commuters who travel frequently during off-peak periods. This group of commuters enjoy unlimited travel on all basic bus and rail services all day on weekends and public holidays, and on weekdays except during morning and evening peak hours from 6.30am to 9am and 5pm to 7.30pm.

We thank Mr Goh for his feedback. 

Helen Lim (Ms)
Group Director, Corporate Communications Group
Land Transport Authority