Chart of the Day: Public transport costs in Singapore are surprisingly cheap

Fares are way more expensive in Hong Kong and Seoul.

Singapore is often singled out for its high cost of living, but public transport costs in the city-state are still surprisingly cheap compared to other leading Asian cities.

This chart from Macquarie shows that average bus fares in Singapore stand at just US$0.50 cents per boarding, compared to US$0.94 in Hong Kong, US$1.24 in Central Tokyo, and US$1.68 in Seoul.

Meanwhile, average train fares in the city-state are at US$0.68 cents per boarding, lower than US$1.29 in Hong Kong and US$1.01 in Central Tokyo.

Singapore's train fares, however, are higher than US$0.53 per boarding in Seoul and US$0.45 per boarding in Central Shanghai.

“Already having one of the lowest transport costs regionally, the government announced 1.9% fare cuts for bus and rail recently citing low fuel costs. While the reason is valid in our view, we think it will cramp PTO’s margins even further as they are unable to pass through increasing costs,” said Macquarie.

While fares are being cut on the anvil of elections (first time since 2009), recent disruptions have given rise to penalty risks for SMRT. In addition, capex outlays are rising. Fare cuts on the anvil of elections

“Already having one of the lowest transport costs regionally, the government announced 1.9% fare cuts for bus and rail recently citing low fuel costs. While the reason is valid in our view, we think it will cramp PTO’s margins even further as they are unable to pass through increasing costs,” said Macquarie.