Commuters need not switch to SimplyGo by June 1 as LTA shelves plan

If they wish to, commuters can continue to use ez-link and Nets FlashPay cards past June 1 as the switch to SimplyGo has been postponed, said Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat. 

"I have discussed your feedback and concerns with the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA)," he said in a Facebook post on Monday (Jan 22).

"We have 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." 

This decision will cost them around $40 million, Chee said.

On Jan 9, LTA announced that the CBT system would stop operating on June 1 and encouraged commuters to switch to SimplyGo, an account-based ticketing (ABT) platform for public transport fare payments.

Amid the switch, however, the SimplyGo app slowed down and many reported inability to use the app's functions to upgrade their cards or check their fare.

While the technical issue was remedied on Jan 11 with a software update, many still had qualms on whether SimplyGo was a necessary change.

On Monday, Chee apologised on behalf of MOT and LTA for the delays commuters experienced when attempting to convert their cards, admitting that "this could have been avoided with better preparation".

"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," he added.

SimplyGood or bad?

The transport minister also explained the benefits of the ABT system such as SimplyGo as compared to the CBT system that ez-link and Nets FlashPay are under.

With SimplyGo, the value is stored in the commuter's account instead of the card itself, so losing the card won't cause a commuter to lose the money stored in it, unlike an ez-link card.

"Some people buy ABT stored value cards for their family members, so that they can top up the value more conveniently using the SimplyGo app," Chee said.

"In addition, ABT enables commuters to use bank cards and mobile wallets to pay public transport fares," he added, stating that about 40 per cent of adult commuters now use bank cards or mobile wallets.

But because card balance data isn't stored in the card itself, it would "take a few seconds to retrieve information" regarding fares and display it at the fare gates or card readers.

This would slow down the flow of commuters and cause long queues, especially during peak hours, Chee explained.

"Unfortunately, there is currently no technical solution to this," he said.

Chee also noted that other ABT cards in London and Hong Kong do not display information such as fare deductions and card balances at fare gates.

However, he said he has tasked LTA to study ways to enhance the features and improve the user experience for ABT cards, "in particular possible solutions for ABT cards to display fare deductions and stored value card balances at fare gates and bus card readers".

Meanwhile, LTA will allow those who purchased or converted to SimplyGo cards between Jan 9 and Jan 22 to switch back to their ez-link and Nets FlashPay cards at no additional charge.

The same also goes for concession card holders with SimplyGo cards issued or converted on or before Jan 22.

"We seek commuters' understanding that we require some time to prepare our operations for the card exchange, to minimise inconvenience to commuters," LTA said in a press release on Monday.

"Details will be available by end February."

ALSO READ: As Singapore transits to SimplyGo, we revisit things that have simply gone

khooyihang@asiaone.com