Slightly less than two weeks after it first announced plans to phase out non-SimplyGo cards on public transport, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has halted the transition.

Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat apologised in a Facebook post on Jan. 22, acknowledging the concerns of commuters who want to continue seeing their fare deductions and card balances at fare gates and bus card readers.

Chee discussed with Ministry of Transport (MOT) and LTA and decided to "extend the use of the current card-based ticketing (CBT) system for adult commuters, and not to sunset the system in 2024 as originally planned".

What happens next? Which system will be phased out/dead?

LTA is not shelving SimplyGo.

This will continue as many commuters have adopted SimplyGo.

LTA explained previously that SimplyGo payment methods are becoming more common, with "about two in three" adult fare transactions on public transport made through the SimplyGo platform.

For now, the only thing that's dead is that Jun. 1 deadline.

With the extension of the old system, commuters who made the switch to SimplyGo after the original transition plans were announced can simply exchange their SimplyGo EZ-Link card for the old EZ-Link card at no additional charge.

This applies to commuters who previously made the switch to the SimplyGo EZ-Link card between Jan. 9 and Jan. 22.

More details on the exchange will be announced by end-February, LTA announced.

Meanwhile, those who are already using SimplyGo can continue doing so.

How many commuters made the change after LTA's announcement?

In the original announcement, LTA announced that it would stop accepting the legacy cards from Jun. 1, 2024.

Commuters were advised to upgrade their cards for free, or switch to bank cards entirely.

The result: nearly 140,000 adult commuters and concession card users made the switch to SimplyGo after the Jan. 9 announcement.

Many encountered long queues and issues including failed upgrades and longer-than-expected processing times, which Chee acknowledged "could have been avoided with better preparation".

"I apologise on behalf of MOT and LTA for the delays commuters experienced when they tried to convert their existing EZ Link cards," he said.

S$40 million? Will public transport fares be raised?

In his post, Chee wrote that the government would spend an additional S$40 million to continue the status quo — aka, operating the legacy system in tandem with SimplyGo.

Which raises the question: where is this S$40 million price tag coming from? And does this mean that public transport fares will be raised?

To the first question: the S$40 million isn't a "penalty" instilled for stubborn Singaporeans who refuse change. Nor is it an avoidable cost.

However, if we let the current CBT system sunset after end of life, there is no need to incur this S$40 million.

It's simply the cost required to replace the existing card-based ticketing system — which uses the old EZ-Link and Nets Flashpay cards — when it reaches the end of its life this year.

Plus the cost needed to maintain and operate the system thereafter.

Speaking to CNA, LTA explained that the S$40 million will be used for hardware replacements and system maintenance.

It will also be funded by the government, LTA explained, and is not part of the public transport fare formula.

In other words: No, we're not going to see higher fares as a result of this.

Is SimplyGo dead, or will we still have to switch eventually?

It's also important to note that while Chee announced that the government will "extend" the old system, it is unclear for how long.

Furthermore, it remains to be seen when the LTA will be moving ahead with the full transition to SimplyGo at a later date. No new date has yet been announced.

For now, it seems that Singaporeans have gotten their way, and — to quote the classic Disney movie — stuck to the status quo.

Background

The original plan

On Jan. 9, 2024, LTA announced that starting Jun. 1, 2024, two types of legacy stored value cards would not be accepted on public transport.

These included EZ-Link adult cards which had not yet been upgraded to SimplyGo EZ-Link, and NETS FlashPay cards.

Concession cardholders, such as seniors, students, Workfare Transport Concession cardholders, and persons with disabilities, were not included in this change.

First introduced in 2019, the SimplyGo system came with a host of handy new features, such as allowing commuters to use contactless bank cards for public transport, topping up their cards using their mobile phones as well as blocking transactions if a card is misplaced.

However, the upgrade came with one key difference: with the new card, commuters would no longer be able to view the transaction on the fare reader after tapping their card.

Neither would they be able to view their remaining card balance.

Why the change?

According to LTA, the legacy card system was "nearing the end of its operational lifespan".

It added that the adoption of SimplyGo has been on the rise, with two in three adult fare transactions made using either SimplyGo EZ-Link or bank cards.

In December 2023, 2.6 million daily adult fare payments were made through SimplyGo, compared with the 1.5 million made on the legacy system, The Straits Times reported.

LTA shelves plans to phase out non-SimplyGo cards

However, the move was met with concerns and criticisms from the public.

The biggest gripe, it seemed, was the inability to see their fare and card balance on the fare reader after tapping their card.

This was "technically possible", LTA explained, but would result in slower entries and exits.

It added, "Given the large numbers of commuters who are taking MRT and buses, this will lead to longer queues which is not desirable."

On Jan. 22, Chee published a Facebook post announcing that plans for the transition had been halted.

He wrote:

"I also hear and acknowledge the concerns of commuters who want to continue seeing their fare deductions and card balances at fare gates and bus card readers."

In the meantime, the LTA will continue to study ways to enhance the account-based ticketing system (i.e. SimplyGo and bank cards), in hopes of possibly enabling the display of fare deductions and card balances.

Top photo from Mothership and Syfa & Ganjar