Extension of 2019 Public Transport Voucher Exercise

Government to extend application deadline and commuters in need will also receive vouchers directly

1.     The Government will be extending the application deadline for the 2019 Public Transport Voucher (PTV) Exercise from 31 October 2020 to 31 January 2021. This will give eligible households more time to apply for the vouchers at their local Community Centres/Clubs (CCs). The deadline for voucher redemption will also be extended from 31 March 2021 to 30 June 2021 and this will apply to all vouchers issued under the 2019 PTV Exercise.

2.     Each PTV is worth $50. Households are eligible to apply for a PTV if their monthly household income from all sources¹ per person does not exceed $1,200. The vouchers can be used to top up fare cards or buy monthly concession passes.

3.     The Citizens’ Consultative Committees (CCCs) will also assess and help deserving cases who marginally miss these criteria or provide additional PTVs to households which may be deemed to need more help. Residents may approach their local CCs if they have any queries.

Households under ComCare schemes will also receive PTVs directly

4.     Around 30,000 low-income households under the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s ComCare Short-to-Medium-Term Assistance (SMTA) and Long-Term Assistance (LTA) schemes do not need to apply as they will qualify automatically for the PTV and receive a PTV redemption letter² directly via postal mail. ComCare SMTA and LTA beneficiaries who have previously applied and received PTVs through the 2019 PTV Exercise are also eligible for this additional disbursement. This will support low-income households who have been more adversely affected by the economic downturn. The PTV letters will be disbursed in two tranches: 

a)     The first tranche will be progressively disbursed from early December 2020. This will benefit ComCare recipients who remain on SMTA or LTA as at 31 August 2020.

b)     The second tranche will be progressively disbursed from mid March 2021. This will benefit ComCare recipients who remain on SMTA or LTA as at 31 January 2021, if they did not receive the PTV from the first tranche.

¹ Household income from all sources refers to regular income from employment and business, as well as income from investment (e.g. interest and dividends), rental and other sources such as pension and cash contributions from relatives who are not staying in the same household. It also includes regular government transfers such as the Workfare Income Supplement. Irregular receipts such as gambling windfalls, one-off payments such as insurance claims or ad-hoc government transfers are not included.

² Recipients can use the serial code on the letter to credit the PTV into a stored value travel card at any TransitLink Ticket Office, Concession Card Replacement Office, Add Value Machine (AVM) or TransitLink (TL) Kiosk.

Ministry of Transport
People’s Association