Commuters at the fare gantry of an MRT station. (File photo: TODAY)
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SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Monday (Jan 22) U-turned on its decision to phase out the old ticketing system in favour of SimplyGo.
The move to discontinue the NETS FlashPay card and some adult EZ-Link cards for use on buses and trains was announced on Jan 9.
But the transition has not gone smoothly, with a public outcry over the decision and commuters facing difficulty upgrading their cards.
Here’s how events unfolded since LTA first announced the launch of SimplyGo five years ago.
March 2019: SimplyGo launch
On Mar 7, 2019, LTA revealed that it would launch SimplyGo, starting with Mastercard in April.
This came after a “successful pilot of the Account-Based Ticketing (ABT) system”, according to LTA.
The ABT pilot, introduced in 2017, allowed commuters to travel with contactless payment instead of having a separate fare card.
SimplyGo allowed commuters to use contactless bank cards on public transport, and also allowed commuters to keep track of their travel expenditure and history by registering for an account on the TransitLink SimplyGo Portal, said LTA in its press release.
“SimplyGo widens the range of payment options available to commuters. Users will be able to tap in and out with their contactless cards, and also use mobile devices linked to Mastercard,” it added.
The initiative was expanded to include Visa and NETS contactless cards in June and November respectively.
The EZ-Link and TransitLink Simply Go mobile apps will soon be merged into a single platform, as part of efforts to simplify ticketing and card-related services for public transport fares.
June 2023: EZ-Link, TransitLink merge under SimplyGo
LTA said that EZ-Link and TransitLink’s transit and travel card-related services would be consolidated under the SimplyGo brand.
“The SimplyGo app will be the one-stop app for all transit-related transactions by end-2023,” said LTA, adding that the move included new features like instant card blocking and the refund of remaining balance into one’s account.
TransitLink’s customer service centres at MRT stations and bus interchanges were also rebranded to SimplyGo ticket offices and service centres.
Jan 9, 2024: Non-SimplyGo EZ-Link, NETS FlashPay cards to be phased out
This was the announcement that sparked plenty of reaction from commuters online.
From Jun 1, 2024, non-SimplyGo EZ-Link adult cards and NETS FlashPay cards can no longer be used to pay public transport fares, said LTA.
The agency attributed the transition to the “growing adoption of SimplyGo payment methods and the legacy card-based ticketing system for adult commuters nearing the end of its operational lifespan”.
It added that about two in three adult fare transactions on public transport were made using either SimplyGo EZ-Link or bank cards, so most commuters would not be affected by this transition.
Commuters were encouraged to download the SimplyGo mobile application to access its services, including the viewing of fare transactions and remote card balance top-ups.
LTA highlighted the benefits of SimplyGo, such as topping up cards using its mobile app, blocking transactions if a card is misplaced, and receiving notifications on fares and card balances.
Public outcry; problems upgrading EZ-Link cards
The decision to completely migrate the system to SimplyGo has stirred up questions about whether it was even necessary in the first place, with many commuters expressing their displeasure online.
CNA’s Facebook post on the announcement alone drew hundreds of angry reactions and comments.
Some asked why a system that was not broken needed to be “fixed”.
“The worst news ever … Why does one need to be forced to download an app,” one commenter wrote.
Another said: “I feel sorry for the seniors who are not tech (savvy). They will end up struggling to keep up with basic (things) such as transportation.”
One of the biggest complaints was that under the SimplyGo system, the card balance is not displayed at the fare gate.
“As SimplyGo transactions are processed backend, similar to credit and debit card transactions, commuters using SimplyGo will not be able to view their fare deductions and card balances at station fare gates and bus readers,” said LTA when it first announced the move.
Following the announcement, some commuters attempting to upgrade their EZ-Link cards faced problems, including long processing times and failed upgrades which led to invalid cards.
One commuter told CNA she was unable to upgrade her card at two stations.
“I tried two cards at different machines, one here and one in Commonwealth, both failed.
“If you want us to upgrade, please make the machine better. Don’t waste time,” she said.
A sign next to a ticketing machine at City Hall MRT states that upgrading to SimplyGo may take a few minutes because of high traffic. (Photo: CNA/Abigail Ng)
Jan 12, 2024: Fare display on SimplyGo “technically possible”
On Jan 12, LTA said that fare display for SimplyGo users was “technically possible”, three days after it had stated that SimplyGo users are unable to view fare information at station gates and bus readers because of the way such transactions are processed,.
In response to CNA queries, LTA said that upon tapping a SimplyGo EZ-Link card, it would take a “few seconds” for fare gates and bus readers to obtain and display the card balance and deduction information from the backend system.
“While this is technically possible, it will slow down the entry and exit for commuters,” said LTA.
“Given the large numbers of commuters who are taking MRT and buses, this will lead to longer queues which is not desirable.”
LTA added that the SimplyGo app allows commuters to “view this information and more”, pointing to the app alerts on fares for each trip via push notifications on a user’s phone.
“SimplyGo users who prefer not to use the app can also view their trip details and card balance at ticketing machines located at every train station and bus interchange.”
Jan 22, 2024: The U-turn
On Monday, the plan to phase out the current ticketing system was shelved.
“LTA will be extending the existing adult card-based ticketing (CBT) system, to operate in parallel with the SimplyGo system,” said the agency.
“The extension will continue to give adult commuters the option of using the EZ-Link and NETS FlashPay cards or their SimplyGo-compatible cards on public transport.”
It added that commuters who have purchased or converted their cards to SimplyGo EZ-Link cards between Jan 9 and Jan 22, can exchange them for a CBT EZ-Link card for free if they wish to do so.
The same goes for concession cardholders with a SimplyGo-compatible card. This includes seniors, students, Workfare Transport Concession cardholders, and people with disabilities.
Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, who announced the move on Monday, acknowledged in a Facebook post the concerns of commuters who want to continue seeing their fare deductions and card balances at fare gates and bus card readers.
“I have discussed your feedback and concerns with the Transport Ministry and LTA,” said Mr Chee. “We have decided to extend the use of the current CBT system for adult commuters, and not to sunset the system in 2024 as originally planned.”
“We will spend an additional S$40 million (US$29.8 million), so that commuters can continue to use EZ Link cards and NETS FlashPay cards if they wish to.”
Mr Chee also apologised for the delays in the card upgrade to SimplyGo.
“I apologise on behalf of MOT and LTA for the delays commuters experienced when they tried to convert their existing EZ Link cards,” he said. “This could have been avoided with better preparation.”
He added that he has tasked LTA to study ways to enhance the features and improve the user experience for account-based ticketing cards.
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