gistfile1.txt

I expect this to go poorly considering that much of /r/sg's demographics are school going and thus best placed to benefit, but this has to be said.

Many, especially university students, will note this particular peculiarity in the concession pass system, where it is significantly cheaper to use only one mode of transport:

Pass | Cost
---|---
Bus Concession Pass (BCP)	|$55.50
Train Concession Pass (TCP |	$48.00
Hybrid Concession Pass (HCP)* |	$90.50

source: https://www.transitlink.com.sg/undergraduate-concession-card

This doesn't just apply only to university students; we can see this at work for poly students (who famously, for quite a while, paid the same fares as uni students and not that of their A-level counterparts). In fact, it also extends to primary/secondary school students, though the very low single trip primary/secondary school fares means most in this age group don't buy passes anyway.

# The problem

This pricing system is largely unchanged from the 80s and the 90s where the bus companies were individual operations and SMRT was also a separate thing. Your parents may recall this as the farecard era where one had to pay separate fares every time changing between bus and MRT, and that transfer discounts were only a small discount off the overall fares.

This might have worked in the old days, but with the [LTA's introduction of Distance Fares in 2010](https://www.ptc.gov.sg/newsroom/news-releases/newsroom-view/expiry-of-3-fare-rebate-launch-of-distance-fares-on-3-july-2010), we are now at a point where it is possible to ride a bus for free after an MRT ride.

The MRT network is also expanding, but we can't build the MRT everywhere nor can we run buses everywhere. The expansion of the MRT will mean that more people will be asked to make trips involving both bus and MRT, a trend that can also be seen in [Census 2020](https://www.singstat.gov.sg/publications/reference/cop2020/cop2020-sr2), where 25.7% of respondents used both bus and rail modes of transport compared to 17.7% in 2010.

Under the current concession pass regimes, imposing such a requirement basically asks these groups to double their spending on public transport, because where previously they can buy a much cheaper bus concession, they are now forced to purchase the much more expensive hybrid concession.

# Benefits of a pass

This is mainly more for university students and NSmen, who pay adult fares otherwise and only gain access to the discounted passes. 

The situation is similar for senior citizens, but they don't have these single mode prices. Senior citizens get a single pass at $64 ([introduced in 2014 at $60, since increased](https://www.ptc.gov.sg/newsroom/news-releases/newsroom-view/ptc-approves-about-half-of-the-6.6-fare-cap-for-2013-fare-increase-rolls-over-remainder-for-2014-exercise)) that allows them to have unlimited rides on both buses and MRT. Likewise also new in 2014, normal people may apply for the Adult Monthly Travel Pass, that gives unlimited bus and MRT rides at $128 today. Yes, this is a raw deal for a lot of people.

For the $128 pass to pay off, it is necessary to spend $4.27 a day on transport, every day, for a month with 30 days. For reference, the highest possible fare payable is $2.26 for journeys above 40.2km, equivalent to travelling from Pasir Ris to Tuas every day (not even Boon Lay or Joo Koon). For a 20 day work month, this increases further to $6.40.

On the other hand, a university student who can make the $48 MRT pass work for them (more likely for NUS or SMU kids, less so for NTU) will only have to purchase the pass if they can spend more than $2.40 a day on public transport. It's much easier to reach a $2.40 cap than a $6.40 cap.

The most negative effects of this can be seen in NUS, where what I must assume are train concession pass holders all flood the free ISBs, whilst bus 95 sees much less use even when it passes by the same places. [The ISB Man wrote a post](https://theisbman.home.blog/2019/01/17/is-95-free/) exhorting people to take 95, but based on what I'm seeing of 95 it seems to fall on deaf ears, probably because much more people use train concession + free ISBs so can't benefit from the transfer rebates.

# What should be done?

**One can't help but ask the question on whether the mode-specific concession passes should be removed, and prices of the hybrid concession passes for tertiary students should be dropped down to $64 to align the policy with what is offered for senior citizens.** Other categories of students can also follow suit with just hybrid passes at a new level below $64.

By removing incentives for users to stick to a certain mode, we can more efficiently provide public transport especially where our MRT network is expanding with the TEL and other rail lines; the growing MRT network inevitably results in cases where MRT trips used to take a bus, like [the many Bukit Timah expressway routes and maybe even 36 in Marine Parade after TEL4](https://medium.com/from-the-red-line/who-rides-expressway-buses-d6c9522f34a4). We can also more efficiently use buses in certain places (such as 95 and other "free bus rides" pairs) to distribute people coming off the MRT/LRT, especially in places like Sengkang and Punggol.