Singapore: Public Transportation System in Singapore

Public Transportation System in Singapore

The public transportation system in Singapore is made up of trains (MRT and LRT), bus and taxi (or, as some may know it, cab).

It is important to buy smart cards known as EZlink card which is used as a form of payment for transportations in Singapore. You will have to tap in at the entrance and tap again to exit for both trains and buses. Some taxis allow for EZlink payments too.

Payments are judged by distance so it is important to remember to tap out at exits especially for buses where it is easy to forget to tap out before alighting. If you should forget to tap out when alighting the bus, the fare for the entire bus route will be charged to your EZlink card.

EZlink cards can be easily bought from any train station's Passenger Service Centre, 7-Eleven and any post office. SGD$5 will be charged for the cost of the card while there is a deposit value of SGD$7 and SGD$5 when you buy the EZlink card from train stations and 7-Eleven respectively. There is no required deposit value when the card is bought from the post office.

MRT & LRT

As a country that places high importance on its tourism activities, the train system reflects according to the developments of local attractions. As a result most, if not all, of the main attractions in Singapore are accessible by train. For those that are not, such as the zoo, shuttle bus services provide the solution by transporting visitors between attractions and designated train stations.

LRT is the Light Rail Transit system that is used in Sengkang, Punggol and Bukit Panjang areas that is linked to the MRT system.

 
Credits of photo go to Land Transport Authority.

Train fares are free when commuters alight at the selected train stations around the Central Business District (CBD) before 7.45am. This free train fare scheme is till 24 June 2014 so take note if you will be in Singapore before then and are willing to wake up early.

Taxi

Cabbing in Singapore is based on meter charges so you do not have to worry about being charged at 'foreigner prices' or 'tourist prices'.

There might be additional charges such as ERP (Electronic Road Pricing), an electronic toll collection system that is placed all around the CBD. It collects tolls at specific hours and the gantry will show the toll charges whenever it is activated. These surcharges will also be shown on the taxi meter. To further drive away any worries one might hold towards cabbing in Singapore, a table of the meter charges is pasted onto the windows of taxis and taxi drivers are pretty friendly. So feel free to clarify any doubts in the fare charges and they will gladly explain it to you.