LTA unveils free MRT rides for early riders

There are also discounts of up to 50 cents.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will embark on a one-year trial from 24 June 2013 to provide free travel on the rail network for commuters who end their journey before 7.45am on weekdays at 16 designated MRT stations in the city area. 

In addition, commuters who exit at these stations between 7.45am and 8am will be given a discount of up to 50 cents off their train fare. The Government will be funding this one-year trial.

The objective of the trial is to encourage commuters who are able and willing to make changes to their travel schedule, to travel earlier into the city area before the peak hour.

This would help spread out the morning peak hour crowds to the pre-peak period, and ease the crowding situation on city-bound stretches of the MRT network.

It is part of the Government’s effort to try to alleviate the morning peak hour crowding situation on trains in the short term, even as rail capacity is aggressively being increased through new lines, additional trains, as well as higher train frequencies in the longer term.

The free travel trial will be a significant enhancement to the existing SMRT Early Travel Discount scheme, which offers up to 50 cents discount for travel on SMRT lines into 14 SMRT stations in the city area before 7.45am.

It will also entail a wider coverage compared to the current scheme as it will include SBST’s North East Line (NEL) and Sengkang and Punggol LRTs (SPLRT) i.e. commuters who enter at stations on NEL and SPLRT and exit at the designated city area stations will be eligible for the discount.

In addition, the two NEL stations in the city area – Clarke Quay and Chinatown – will be included in the scheme, bringing the total number of designated city stations from 14 to 16, or essentially every MRT station in the city area.

Free travel before 7.45am

Commuters must exit at any of the 16 designated stations in the city area by 7.45am on Mondays to Fridays (excluding public holidays) for the train portion of their journey to be free. The train journey must not begin at any of these 16 designated stations.

The 16 designated stations are Bugis, Chinatown, City Hall, Clarke Quay, Dhoby Ghaut, Lavender, Orchard, Outram Park, Raffles Place, Somerset, Tanjong Pagar, Bayfront, Bras Basah, Esplanade, Marina Bay and Promenade.

Up to 50 cents discount from 7.45am to 8am

To encourage even more people to make the effort to travel early, commuters who exit at the 16 designated stations between 7.45am and 8am, on Mondays to Fridays (excluding public holidays), will receive up to 50 cents off their train fare.

Currently, there is no discount offered during this period. This will also allow commuters who miss the cut-off timing for free travel by a few minutes to enjoy some discount.