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For those who still use standard tickets for your MRT fare, take note that the sale of these tickets will be progressively phased out next year, between Jan. and Mar. 2022.

Out by Mar. 10, 2022

The phasing out of standard tickets at general ticketing machines will begin with the Thomson-East Coast Line and Downtown Line from Jan. 10, 2022, announced the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in a Dec. 3 press release.

The tickets will then be phased out for the Circle Line and North East Line a month later on Feb. 10, 2022, followed by the North-South and East-West Lines on Mar. 10, 2022.

LTA shared that the move comes as most commuters are already using stored value cards (e.g. EZ-Link, NETS FlashPay cards, and concession cards), or account-based ticketing options (e.g. contactless bank cards and mobile wallets).

This evidence is supported by pilot programmes that LTA said it conducted earlier this year, where the sale of standard tickets was temporarily halted at some MRT stations.

It found that those who still used standard tickets generally also "had access to alternative forms of payment, such as contactless bank cards, mobile wallets, and EZ-Link cards".

LTA added that the stored value cards and ABT options have the added benefit of offering commuters more savings and convenience as compared to a standard ticket.

A 3.2km trip, for example, would cost S$1.70 with a standard ticket, compared to S$0.92 when using stored value cards or ABT payment.

Minimum top-up for stored value cards reduced to S$2

In addition, LTA has reduced the minimum top-up amount for stored value cards at ticketing machines to S$2, to enable more commuters who have limited cash on hand to top up their cards.

This is down from S$10 for adults, and S$5 for student concession cards.

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