Singapore to spend US$30 million to keep EZ-link cards after SimplyGo ‘judgment error’, transport minister says

Chee told reporters the Land Transport Authority (LTA) had “underestimated” the strong preference of some commuters to be able to view the fare deductions and card balances at station gates and bus card readers.

“This was a judgment error on our part, and I apologise to our commuters for what happened. We will learn from this, and we will do better in future,” he said at an interview on Friday organised for some media outlets.

Chee added that the card-based ticketing (CBT) system for adult commuters will be in place until at least 2030.

The LTA announced on January 9 that it planned to phase out the older ticketing system from June 1 in favour of SimplyGo, noting that around two-thirds of adult public transport fares were currently paid through SimplyGo EZ-Link cards or bank cards.

Concession cardholders did not need to make the change.

The older CBT system allows commuters to see their fare deductions and card balances at fare gates and bus card readers. They are currently not able to do so using SimplyGo cards.

Days after the announcement, the LTA said it was “technically possible” to show such information at station gates and bus readers, but it would slow down the entry and exit for commuters.

On Monday, the authority reversed its decision to phase out the older ticketing system.

“I apologise on behalf of MOT (the Ministry of Transport) and LTA for the delays commuters experienced when they tried to convert their existing EZ-Link cards. This could have been avoided with better preparation,” Chee said in a Facebook post on Monday.

In deciding not to sunset the CBT system for adult commuters, an estimated S$40 million (US$30 million) will be spent, so commuters can continue to use EZ-Link cards and NETS FlashPay cards.

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