Singapore's acting transport minister Jeffrey Siow attributes the reduction in peak hour crowding on the northeast rail network to community engagement initiatives and offers free travel concessions for those who can manage travel times.
“We have been able to shift 9 per cent of commuters off the peak hour, which means that it’s a win-win situation for the northeast commuters,” says the acting transport minister.
Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow , grassroots advisor for Sengkang Ms Theodora Lai speak to diners at a coffeeshop in Sengkang, May 24, 2026. Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results.in the northeast region of Singapore have reduced crowding on trains by 9 per cent, said acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow on Sunday .
Describing this as a “good outcome”, he said: “We have been able to shift 9 per cent of commuters off the peak hour, which means that it’s a win-win situation for the northeast commuters.
" “Those who are able to travel off peak get to travel for free. Those who are not able to do so, actually they still get a less crowded ride now. ” Speaking to journalists while on a ministerial community visit in Sengkang, Mr Siow also responded to a question about whether the government plans to tackle the cost of living on the public transport front in light of the Middle East crisis.
Public transport fares have stayed the same since the conflict in the Middle East broke out, said Mr Siow, who sits on the. Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam announced in April that the committee had been convened to coordinate Singapore’s response to the crisis.
“We are, of course, continuing to watch the situation very carefully. If the situation deteriorates, we will see how we can do more,” said the acting transport minister. In a one-year pilot implemented in December 2025, commuters in the northeast of Singapore who start their weekday journeys at off-peak hours – before 7.30am or between 9am and 9.45am – do not have to pay.
This applies to commuters that board at any of the six North East Line stations between Punggol Coast and Kovan, or any Sengkang-Punggol Light Rapid Transit station. When the scheme was announced, the Land Transport Authority had said that it would “moderate travel demand” during morning rush hour in the region and improve commuters’ experience.
The stations along NEL and the Sengkang-Punggol LRT were chosen as they make up the busiest segment of the train network during morning rush hour, the authority said at the time. One of the government’s priorities was to get support out as soon as possible for drivers, platform workers and other essential services that were affected by the fuel price spikes, said Mr Siow.
“We also worked very closely with the providers to make sure that those services were not disrupted,” he added. Noting the measures rolled out to address cost-of-living concerns as a result of the Middle East crisis, Mr Siow said the second tranche of the U-Save and Service & Conservancy Charges rebates in July will be important because electricity prices are expected to go up that month after the new fuel inputs are incorporated into the electricity formula.
These rebates are part of the permanent GST Voucher scheme – they offset utilities expenses and S&CC for lower- and middle-income HDB households. Mr Siow, who is also Senior Minister of State for Finance, had previously announced in parliament in April a newSingaporeans will receive higher Cost-of-Living special payments and platform workers will get cash relief under the new measures.
Originally due in January 2027, the next tranche of S$500 in Community Development Council vouchers will instead be disbursed in June this year.
“These are all together, a whole series of support between now and through the third quarter of this year. It will help immediately with the impact on fuel prices,” said Mr Siow on Sunday.
“We are watching the situation carefully, and if the situation changes or deteriorates, the government will, of course, consider whether or not to do further support. ” When asked if the impact of the Middle East crisis will be reflected in this year’s public transport fare revision exercise, the acting transport minister said: “I think we have to wait. The fare review process hasn’t really started yet.
I think there is a process for taking it through, I think we have to let them do their work. ”
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