Fares and ticketing on the Light Rapid Transit (Singapore)

The Light Rapid Transit system in Singapore has collected fares by using a variety of ticketing measures throughout its history.

Fares

* EZ-Link Card Adult Fares: S$0.65 - S$0.86
* EZ-Link Card Senior Citizen Fares: S$0.65
* EZ-Link Card Child & Student Fares: S$0.40 - S$0.50
* Standard Ticket Fares: S$0.90 - S$1.10

Ticketing

Tickets

Contactless smart cards replaced their magnetic ticket predecessors completely on 31 December 2002, making Singapore one of the first cities to implement contactless smart card payment on all the main modes of public transportation, along the likes of Hong Kong.

Magnetic Farecards (1987 - 2002)

When the system first came into operation in 1987, fares on the Yio Chu Kang to Clementi ranged from S$0.50 to S$1.10 in S$0.10 increments for all adult tickets, regardless of whether they were single-trip or stored tickets. Several concessionary fares were available. Senior citizens and permanent residents above the age of 60 could travel on a flat fare S$0.50 during off-peak hours, namely from 10am to 4pm, and from 7pm onwards on weekdays, from 2.30pm onwards on Saturdays, and for the entire day on Sundays and public holidays. At all other times, standard adult fares were payable. Children below the height of 1.2 metres, and full time students studying in primary, secondary, Pre-university and VITB institutions can pay a flat fare of S$0.30 at any time of the day.

Magnetic strip plastic tickets were used, and came in various forms. The single trip ticket, coloured in green, has a validity on the day of purchase, as well as a time allowance of 30 minutes above the travelling time. Stored value tickets came in three values: The S$10 blue ticket for adults, the S$10 magenta tickets for senior citizens, and the S$5 red tickets for children. In addition, monthly concession tickets can also be purchased, and comes in four values: The beige coloured S$13 ticket for primary students, the peach coloured S$17 ticket for secondary, pre-university and VITB students, the pink coloured S$30 ticket for tertiary students, and the purple coloured S$36 ticket for full time national servicemen. These concession tickets have a validity of one month from the date of purchase, allows up to four trips per day, and are non transferable.

EZ-Link Card & Standard Ticket (2002 -)

The "EZ-Link" Card enables residents & foreign visitors alike to travel freely on the MRT, LRT & Bus system without the need for multiple cards, saving them both time & effort as they no longer need to figure out which card to use for which system. Commuters travelling on the MRT & LRT system are also not hindered when transferring lines (which could be run by different operators), by the need to exit the faregates and re-enter through another in order to change lines. In general, once one has tapped the "EZ-Link" Card on the card readers and enters the MRT & LRT system, he or she never has to tap it again until he or she has arrived at the desired destination station.

This is not always true on other metro systems in the world, where a commuter may have to exit the faregates in order to transfer to another line or system. For example, in New York City, if a commuter on the New York City Subway system wishes to transfer to the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) metro system, he or she has to exit the faregates at a designated station on the New York City Subway and re-enter the faregates at the designated PATH station in order to make the transfer, and vice-versa, as there are no connections between the paid areas of both systems where the commuter can make the transfer.

Access Control Gates

Tripod Gates (1999 -)

* upgraded to accept contactless smart cards
* For Bukit Panjang LRT

Wide bi directional flap gates (2000s -)

* features LED displays & LCD/TFT displays
* For North South Line, East West Line & Bukit Panjang LRT

Thales Gates (2002 -)

Each gate features Sony contactless smart card readers and 2 central retractable flaps. They are also ergonomically designed & made of stainless steel. Furthermore, they also feature a 6.5 inch LCD/TFT monitor which is used to display information about the ticket used by the passenger passing through the gate, as well as LED displays which show the operating status of the gate (whether it is for entry or exit).

Thales Standard Gates

These are the standard sized gates you would normally see at every station.
* For North East Line, Sengkang LRT & Punggol LRT

Thales Wide Gates

These gates were designed for passengers with bulky luggage, prams, in wheelchairs or those who are disabled to use. These gates are much wider than the standard ones & feature 2 double retractable flaps. There will always be at least 1 in every station. For Changi Airport Station, because it serves airport passengers who are likely to carry bulky hand luggage, all gates at this station are of the wide gate variety.
* For Changi Airport Station, North East Line, Sengkang LRT & Punggol LRT

Ticketing Machines

Integrated Ticketing Machines (1999 - 2002)

* For Bukit Panjang LRT

General Ticketing Machines

Today, the multi functional General Ticketing Machines have replaced their predecessors above for all of the passenger's ticketing needs. These new generation of machines allow the passenger to top up the stored value in their EZ-Link Cards in cash or through NETS, purchase a Standard Ticket in cash, get a refund on their Standard Ticket deposit or check the remaining value in their EZ-Link Card. 2 variations of the General Ticketing Machines are in use, differing only slightly in design as they are manufactured by different companies.

General Ticketing Machine Variant 1 (2002 -)

* For North South Line, East West Line & Bukit Panjang LRT

General Ticketing Machine Variant 2 (2003 -)

* For North East Line, Sengkang LRT & Punggol LRT

ee also

* Automated Fare Collection System