Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye asked the Minister for Transport
a. to date, how many public transport concession cards are issued to commuters;
b. what is the breakdown between the different demographics; and
c. how much does the Ministry spend annually in subsidies for these concession cards over the past 10 years.
Reply by Minister for Transport S Iswaran:
1. As at end June 2021, there are about two million valid public transport concession cards.
2. The majority of the concession cardholders are senior citizens and students, who account for 47% and 31% of the cards respectively. Child concession cards make up 6% of the cardholders while adult monthly travel cards and full-time NSF concession cards each make up 3% of the concession cards. These travel/concession schemes are subsidised by adult-fare paying commuters.
3. The remaining 9% and 1% of cardholders are beneficiaries of the Workfare Transport Concession Scheme and Persons with Disabilities Concession Scheme respectively. These two schemes are subsidized by the Government and depending on the number of cards issued and travel pattern that year, the subsidy ranged from $14.5 million to $18.3 million per year since their inception in 2014.
