Singapore’s rare U-turn on transport payment: will SimplyGo ‘policy blind spot’ become an election issue?

The back-pedalling by authorities on ceasing EZ-Link, a stored-value, card-based system familiar to many Singaporeans, in place of SimplyGo, an account-linked payment format, stemmed from fury over a range of issues – from SimplyGo’s lack of fare display to being forced to download a new app.

“What this incident has shown us is that the system is still robust and can still be evaluated and improved upon [after public feedback],” said Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst with Solaris Strategies Singapore.

Singapore's authorities had first announced two weeks ago they would be halting the card-based EZ-Link system from June, sparking concern over the move confusing elderly users.

“My grandparents do not have smartphones. They are barely literate. Many older people are. They used to be able to see the number or the flashing lights when the amount was lower. Now it’s next to impossible,” another said.

The SimplyGo system was first launched in 2019, allowing commuters to tap contactless credit and debit cards to pay for bus and train fares. Currently, commuters in Singapore have the option of using bus and train payment cards as well as contactless credit and debit cards.

The move would be a “relief” for those who were not tech-savvy or needed a fare display, said Alfred Siew, co-founder of tech website Techgundu. “Unhappiness around the move was quite strong and there was a genuine concern for some people who need to see transport fares for budgeting purposes.”

Authorities needed to dive deeper into the specific needs of commuters using these cards to ensure that no segment of society was being excluded, Neeta Lachmandas, co-founder of ConsciousService, wrote in an opinion piece in national broadsheet The