From 2 January 2025, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will enhance the Travel Smart Journeys (TSJ) initiative to provide enhanced incentives and include more eligible bus options, stated an official release published on December 20.
For the first time, the initiative will also provide incentives to commuters who shift their commutes outside the morning peak period.
The TSJ initiative encourages commuters to adjust their commute away from busier segments of Singapore’s MRT network during the morning peak period. Under the enhanced TSJ, eligible commuters who begin their morning commutes in the northeast region of Singapore can enjoy the following incentives:
a) More bus services: Commuters switching to Service 43e and City Direct Services (CDS) 654, 660, 666, 671, 672 and 673 will continue to be eligible for TSJ incentives. LTA will also extend the TSJ to new bus services CDS 660M, and upcoming CDS 675, 676, 677, and 678. These services connect residents in the northeast region to major employment centres in the Central Business District as well as MacPherson and Paya Lebar.
b) Travel before and after peak period on NEL: Commuters starting their journeys at Punggol Coast, Punggol, Sengkang, Buangkok and Hougang MRT North East Line (NEL) stations – or any station on the Punggol and Sengkang LRT lines – will be eligible for TSJ incentives if they shift their morning travel time to before 7.15am (pre-peak) or between 8.45am and 9.45am (post-peak). This is on top of the existing Morning Pre-Peak Fare Scheme savings of up to $0.50 for those who tap-in before 7.45am at any rail station on weekdays.
c) New rewards structure: Under the enhanced TSJ rewards structure, eligible commuters will receive points equivalent to up to 80% of their journey fares if they (i) switch to eligible bus services, or (ii) shift their travel to before or after the peak period on the NEL. This is compared to receiving points worth an equivalent of SGD 1.50 per eligible trip under the old rewards scheme.
Enrolment for TSJ
Enrolment criteria: Commuters who travel from the northeast region during the morning peak are eligible for TSJ. Those who have tapped in between 7.15am and 8.45am at Punggol Coast, Punggol, Sengkang, Buangkok or Hougang MRT stations, or any station along the Punggol and Sengkang LRT lines, on at least six weekdays (excluding public holidays) over the past 30 calendar days are eligible to apply for TSJ.
Registration: To qualify for TSJ incentives, eligible users (including concession cardholders and EZ-Link/NETS Prepaid/NETS FlashPay cardholders) need to register for the initiative via the SimplyGo app, under the Services tab. Active participants in the previous iteration of TSJ (i.e. those who have earned points in the last six months) will be automatically enrolled in the enhanced TSJ from 2 January 2025, and need not re-register. Inactive users (i.e. those who have not earned points in the last six months) will receive an email invitation to re-register, and will be eligible for incentives if they meet the enrolment criteria.
Receiving incentives: Commuters who have successfully enrolled onto TSJ will receive points each time their journey meets one of the two criteria below:
a) Re-moding: Shift from NEL to any TSJ eligible bus services during the morning operational hours (first bus 6:20 a.m. to last bus 9:30 a.m.); and/or
b) Re-timing: Tap in at Punggol Coast, Punggol, Sengkang, Hougang or Buangkok NEL stations, or any Sengkang or Punggol LRT station, either before 7.15am, or between 8.45am and 9.45am; and tap-out at any MRT/LRT station, excluding stations on the Punggol and Sengkang LRT lines.
Redeeming points: Commuters participating in TSJ can redeem their points in 500-point blocks (equivalent to SGD 5.00) for cash value into their travel cards.
Commuters can save up to SGD 2.37 compared to SGD 2.96 paid, if they re-mode their journeys from NEL to TSJ eligible bus services. As for commuters who shift their journeys to off-peak period, they can save up to SGD 2.08 compared to SGD 2.47 paid, with the enhanced TSJ and the existing Morning Pre-Peak Fare Scheme.
