Debated in Parliament on 18 May 2018.
Miss Cheng Li Hui asked the Minister for Transport (a) what is the current number and percentage of Singaporeans who are on the various public transport concession schemes and how do the figures compare to those five years ago; (b) whether there are assessments done on the number of Singaporeans, especially senior citizens, who are likely to be on the concession scheme by 2020 and 2030 as a result of our ageing population; and (c) whether the senior citizens concession scheme has resulted in more travels by senior citizens.
Mr Speaker, over the last five years, the number of Singapore Residents holding concession cards increased from 1.4 million to 1.8 million. These include students, full-time National Servicemen and senior citizens. We have also recently included persons with disabilities and Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) beneficiaries to the concessions framework in 2014.
The concession scheme for senior citizens, which accounts for more than 40% of residents with concession cards, aims to recognise their contributions towards our nation. By 2020, we expect that there will be close to 900,000 Singapore Residents aged 60 and above who will qualify. Over the last five years, the average number of journeys made by senior citizens has increased by around 50% while the number of senior citizen concession pass holders rose by around 30%. This suggests that senior citizens are making more trips, which could be due to reasons other than the concession.
Miss Cheng Li Hui.
I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary. Some questions. I would like to check how is fare affordability checked to ensure that no one falls through the cracks and they have the suitable concessions that they can apply for. The concessions formula was also reviewed in 2012/2013. Will there be a review soon to keep up with the changing needs? The other thing is, with the increase in the number, how are the fare concessions funded? Because with the numbers, can the current funding model continue to fund when the number of seniors or the people on concession increase substantially? Will there be enhancements soon, especially for the Workfare Supplement scheme?
I thank Member for the questions. The concession schemes are decided by the Public Transport Council (PTC) and reviewed by it regularly. So, PTC will ensure that our public transport fares remain affordable. Looking at the past decade, when we look at the low-income residents, the monthly expenditure on public transport as a proportion of their household income has come down from 4.2% to 2.7%. Of course, besides the low-income groups, there will be other segments of the population that require support. And PTC will continue to review and, if necessary, enhance the concession schemes to take care of these various groups, including senior citizens, students and persons with disabilities.
Miss Cheng is right that there is cost to these concessions. Except for the Workfare Transport Scheme and the persons with disabilities scheme, which are funded by the Government, the others are cross-funded by other full-fare paying commuters. So, there is cross-subsidy by other full-fare paying commuters. Ultimately, PTC has to take into consideration and to strike a balance between ensuring the financial sustainability of the land transport system and the fare affordability for our commuters.
PAPERCUTS