Use of Different Devices or Cards when Entering and Exiting Buses and MRTs, and Claims for Refunds

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether the Ministry will consider providing educational materials and instructional procedures to commuters (i) to avoid using different devices or cards when entering and exiting buses and MRTs and (ii) to apply for refunds should any double charging occur; and (b) whether fare gates can prevent commuters from exiting if they attempt to use a different device or card from the ones they used during entry.

Thank you. Sir, to ensure public transport fares are computed accurately, commuters need to use the same device or card to tap in and tap out at fare gates and bus card readers. If a commuter taps in with one device or card, and taps out with a different device or card, two separate transactions are recorded.

This can occur for a variety of reasons. For example, a commuter may have multiple cards in their wallet and tapping the entire wallet at the reader could result in different cards being detected at entry and exit. A commuter may also have used a different device, such as a smartphone, smartwatch, or physical bank card, to tap in and tap out. As the digital identifier of each device or card is different, even if they are linked to the same bank card, these are also recorded as separate transactions.

The vast majority of transactions in public transport are carried out accurately with commuters using the same card or device to tap in and out. The usage of different devices or cards at entry and exit led to refunds for two out of every 100,000 trips made on public transport, with each refund amounting to $2.70 on average.

It is not possible to identify and reconcile such transactions automatically, since a single card can be used by different commuters. For example, the same bank card can be set up on multiple devices for use by different family members.

It is also presently not operationally feasible to stop commuters who are using SimplyGo from exiting if they use a different device or card from the one used at entry, as this would require a check with the backend system, which will slow down the flow of commuters and lead to long queues during peak hours. This is the same latency problem for account-based ticketing systems that prevents fare deduction and card balance information from being displayed immediately at fare gates and bus card readers.

These errors can be avoided, by using the same device or card to tap in and tap out. That is why other public transport systems like in London and Hong Kong who face similar issues have taken steps to raise awareness among commuters to reduce such occurrences.

Similarly, since the Mastercard pilot for SimplyGo started in March 2017, we have carried out publicity efforts to remind commuters to use the same card or device to enter and exit, such as by placing posters at fare gates and on buses, putting up outdoor banners, making in-station announcements, using radio advertisements, as well as publicising on the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SimplyGo websites and social media platforms. We will continue with these publicity efforts to raise awareness among commuters.

Commuters can check their transactions using the SimplyGo app or at ticket machines. If they find transactions which are wrongly computed, they can apply for a refund via the app, or seek assistance at ticket offices.

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply. Can I ask a few supplementary questions? First, are the commuters charged the maximum fare twice, if they use the same device linked to the same SimplyGo account for tapping in and tapping out?

Secondly, I understand the difficulties in doing the immediate reconciliation, but can this reconciliation be done in the backend so that even if they are charged twice, they can be refunded automatically without having to apply for the refund?

Thirdly, from what I observed, I hear the Minister say that there are posters put up and I do notice those posters, but I notice that they are mostly only in English. Can they also be published in different languages so that all commuters are aware of this issue?

First, I would like to thank Mr Giam for raising these two Parliamentary Questions and also for his supplementary questions. This is an important initiative that we want to raise awareness for. We use this opportunity to let more commuters know that the best way to avoid this issue from cropping up in the first place is to use the same device or to use the same card.

But Mr Giam is right that errors do occur. That is why it is important for us to look at how we can improve the system design where possible to make the refunding process easier, more convenient. I will certainly take on board his suggestion as we look at how to enhance SimplyGo's overall system design and user experience. Which is what we wanted to do for the project as a whole, but I will also pay attention to this particular aspect; in case there are some fares that need to be refunded, we will see what is the process to allow that to happen in a more convenient manner.

I will also take on board Mr Giam's suggestion for the languages on the posters so that we are able to reach out to more commuters and to raise awareness.

For Mr Giam's first question, it depends on whether you are referring to rail or bus because the calculations are slightly different. For rail, if there is a missing entry or a missing exit, that means when you tap in with a different card, it will record as two separate transactions with a missing entry and a missing exit, each one will be charged at $2.30. So, not quite the maximum, but quite close to the maximum.

For the buses, it depends. If there is a missing entry, for example, you will look at distance from the first bus stop to where you exit, because there is a missing entry. If there is a missing exit tapping, it will look at distance from the point of entry to the end of the bus route. This is because there is no record to calculate the actual distance, so they use the maximum possible distance to compute.

But as I mentioned earlier, I think the best way to protect commuters against such occurrences is to raise awareness and help them to avoid this in the first place by using the same device or the same card.