Public Transport Council Act
(CHAPTER 259B)

(Original Enactment: Act 18 of 1987)

REVISED EDITION 2012
(31st March 2012)
An Act to provide for the establishment of the Public Transport Council to provide for the licensing of ticket payment services, to regulate bus fares, street‑hail fares, ride‑hail fares and train fares and for matters connected therewith.
[29/99; 37/2005]
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
[14th August 1987]
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Short title
1.  This Act may be cited as the Public Transport Council Act.
Interpretation
2.  In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —
“bookable vehicle” means any of the following vehicles used or intended to be used in providing an on‑demand passenger transport service through a booking taken or facilitated by a provider of a ride‑hail service:
(a)a taxi;
(b)a private hire car (within the meaning given by the Road Traffic Act (Cap. 276)) which is hired, or made available for hire, under a contract (express or implied) for use as a whole with a driver for the purpose of conveying one or more passengers (if any) in that car;
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“booking”, in relation to a ride‑hail service, means a booking for a bookable vehicle to be used in providing an on‑demand passenger transport service taken or facilitated by the provider of the ride‑hail service;
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“bus” means any motor vehicle registered as a bus under the Road Traffic Act (Cap. 276);
“bus fare” means the price payable by a passenger for any bus service involving the carriage of the passenger on a bus;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“bus operator”, in relation to a bus service, means the person who operates the bus service but does not include —
(a)the Land Transport Authority of Singapore; or
(b)a person who merely arranges for the registration of a bus, drives a bus, or maintains or arranges for the maintenance of a bus;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“bus service” means a service for the carriage of passengers for a fare by buses on roads for journeys wholly or partly within Singapore according to pre-determined routes and timetables with 2 or more bus stopping points within Singapore, but does not include a bus service excluded from this definition by the Minister by order published in the Gazette;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“bus service licence” means a licence granted (or deemed granted) under the Bus Services Industry Act 2015 to operate one or more bus services;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
[Deleted by Act 30 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
[Deleted by Act 30 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“Chairman” means the Chairman of the Council and includes any temporary Chairman of the Council;
“Chief Executive” means the Chief Executive of the Council, and includes any individual acting in that capacity;
[Act 5 of 2018 wef 01/04/2018]
“clearing”, in relation to a ticket payment service, means any arrangement, process, mechanism or facility provided by a person in respect of ticket transactions, by which —
(a)information relating to the terms of those transactions are verified by such person with a view to confirming the authenticity of those transactions; or
(b)the amount payable to the parties under those transactions is calculated and verified;
[Deleted by Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“Council” means the Public Transport Council established under section 3;
“fare” means —
(a)any bus fare;
(b)any train fare;
(c)any ride‑hail fare; or
(d)any street‑hail fare;
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“invalid ticket” means a ticket that is for a journey on a bus or train operated by a public bus operator or licensed rapid transit system operator for which a ticket is required and —
(a)that is used, or attempted to be used —
(i)for a journey that is not the journey for which the ticket was issued;
(ii)to over-travel the fare that was paid for the journey, without reasonable excuse; or
(iii)by a person who is not the first user of a ticket which is non-transferable;
(b)that has been altered or defaced;
(c)that is counterfeit; or
(d)that is expired;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“Land Transport Authority of Singapore” or “LTA” means the public authority of that name constituted under the Land Transport Authority of Singapore Act (Cap. 158A);
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“licensed” means —
(a)licensed under the Bus Services Industry Act 2015 in the case of a bus operator;
(b)licensed under the Rapid Transit Systems Act (Cap. 263A) in the case of an operator of a rapid transit system;
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
(c)licensed under the Road Traffic Act (Cap. 276) in the case of a taxi driver; or
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
(d)licensed under the Point‑to‑Point Passenger Transport Industry Act 2019 in the case of a provider of a ride‑hail service provided using bookable vehicles, or a street‑hail service;
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“licensee” means a person to whom any licence has been granted under this Act;
“limited liability partnership” has the same meaning given to it by section 4(1) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act (Cap. 163A);
“manager”  —
(a)in relation to a company, means the principal executive officer of the company for the time being by whatever name called and whether or not he is a director thereof; and
(b)in relation to a limited liability partnership, has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act;
“on‑demand passenger transport service” and “on‑demand ride booking service” have the meanings given by the Point‑to‑Point Passenger Transport Industry Act 2019;
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“over-travel”, in relation to a fare, means to remain on a bus or train after the place, distance or time covered by the fare paid for the journey has been reached and includes, for a smartcard ticket, tapping out before the completion of the journey or part of the journey;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“paid area” means —
(a)any platform of a railway station that is part of a rapid transit system; and
(b)any area between such a platform and any ticket barrier access or ticket validating machine past which access is gained to the platform;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“passenger” means an individual carried upon a bus, train, taxi or bookable vehicle, as the case may be, but does not include —
(a)an owner, a driver or fare collector of a bus, train, taxi or bookable vehicle while carrying out work or on duty in that capacity; or
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
(b)a public transport official while carrying out work or on duty in that capacity;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“penalty fee” means the penalty fee referred to in section 24C;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“price”, in relation to any fare, includes —
(a)the amount of any rate, fee, levy and charge and any other valuable consideration (however described) for a journey by bus, train, taxi or bookable vehicle (as the case may be), whether or not it is paid or given to an operator of a bus service or train service, a provider of a street‑hail service or ride‑hail service or a driver of a bus, train, taxi or bookable vehicle;
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
(b)the provision of, or arrangements for, a discount, concession, allowance, rebate or credit applying in relation to any amount in paragraph (a); and
(c)in the case of a ride‑hail fare, includes the amount of a booking fee,
but does not include a consideration of a kind prescribed by the Minister by order in the Gazette for the purposes of this definition;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“pricing policy” means the policy for setting any fare, including a policy relating to the level or structure of prices for any fare;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“public authority” means a body established or constituted by or under a public Act to perform or discharge a public function;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“public bus operator” means a licensed bus operator who is party to a public bus services contract for the provision of bus services specified in that contract, and includes a licensed bus operator holding a Class 1 bus service licence but is not party to such a contract;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“public bus services contract” has the same meaning as in the Bus Services Industry Act 2015;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“public service vehicle” has the same meaning as in the Road Traffic Act;
“Public Transport Fund” means the fund of that name established under Part IIIA;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 01/04/2016]
“public transport official” means a person appointed by the Council as a public transport official under section 24A;
“rapid transit system” has the same meaning as in the Rapid Transit Systems Act (Cap. 263A);
[Deleted by Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“ride‑hail common pricing scheme” means a contract made between the prescribed ride‑hail industry participants providing a ride‑hail service that provides —
(a)for a common price or price structure for a fare component in relation to that ride‑hail service; and
(b)for periodic reviews of that common price or price structure,
and includes any variation of that contract;
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“ride‑hail fare” means the price paid or given for the use of a ride‑hail service, whether or not it is paid or given to the provider of the ride‑hail service, a driver or any other person, and includes a booking fee;
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“ride-hail industry participant”, for a type of ride‑hail service, means any of the following:
(a)a ride-hail service licensee authorised to provide that type of ride‑hail service;
(b)any person or class of persons prescribed for the purposes of this definition either generally, or with respect to that particular type of ride‑hail service;
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“ride‑hail service” means —
(a)an on‑demand passenger transport service of any type provided using bookable vehicles; or
(b)an on‑demand ride booking service of any type provided using bookable vehicles;
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“ride‑hail service licensee” means a person to whom a ride‑hail service licence to provide a ride‑hail service is granted (on renewal or otherwise) or deemed granted under the Point‑to‑Point Passenger Transport Industry Act 2019;
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“smartcard reader” means a device or combination of devices that is capable of electronically reading, recording and processing information from a ticket that is a smartcard, and copying or transferring information from the smartcard and storing and displaying the information in legible form;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“street‑hail common pricing scheme” means a contract made between the prescribed street‑hail industry participants providing a street‑hail service that provides —
(a)for a common price or price structure for a fare component in relation to that street‑hail service; and
(b)for periodic reviews of that common price or price structure,
and includes any variation of that contract;
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“street‑hail fare” means the price paid or given for the use of a street‑hail service, whether or not it is paid or given to the provider of the street‑hail service, a driver or any other person, but does not include any booking fee for a taxi made available, or to be made available, in providing on‑demand passenger transport services;
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“street‑hail industry participant” means any of the following:
(a)a street‑hail service licensee;
(b)a taxi driver licensed under the Road Traffic Act to drive a taxi not owned by a street‑hail service licensee;
(c)any person or class of persons prescribed for the purposes of this definition either generally, or with respect to a class of street‑hail service;
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“street‑hail service” means a service involving the transport by road of passengers within, or partly within, Singapore for hire or reward —
(a)provided using motor vehicles which are taxis; and
(b)under which any individual can hail or hire on‑demand such a motor vehicle when it is —
(i)standing or plying for hire on a road; and
(ii)authorised under the Point‑to‑Point Passenger Transport Industry Act 2019 or the Road Traffic Act to stand or ply for hire on a road;
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“street‑hail service licensee” means a person to whom a street‑hail service licence to provide a street‑hail service is granted (on renewal or otherwise) or deemed granted under the Point‑to‑Point Passenger Transport Industry Act 2019;
[Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“tap in”, where payment of a fare is made using a smartcard, means to present a smartcard ticket to a smartcard reader on starting a journey, or part of a journey, resulting in a response from smartcard reader that the transaction is successful;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“tapping out”, where payment of a fare is made using a smartcard, means to present a smartcard ticket to a smartcard reader on completing a journey, or part of a journey, resulting in a response from the smartcard reader that the transaction is successful;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“taxi” means any public service vehicle which is classified as a taxi under the Second Schedule to the Road Traffic Act;
[Deleted by Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
[Deleted by Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
[Deleted by Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
[Deleted by Act 20 of 2019 wef 30/10/2020]
“ticket” means any form of authorisation, issued for the conveyance of any passenger on a rapid transit system or on any bus operated by a public bus operator, or both;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“ticket payment service” means —
(a)a service for —
(i)the clearing of any ticket transaction; or
(ii)the sale, topping-up, replacement or refund, or the management of the use, of a mode of payment for tickets; or
(b)such other services as the Council may, by order in the Gazette, prescribe;
“ticket payment service licence” means a licence granted under Part IVB;
“ticket transaction” means any record of a fare deduction created by the use of a mode of payment for tickets;
[29/95; 29/99; 28/2001; 37/2005; 2/2007]
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“train” means a train used as part of a rapid transit system the operation of which is licensed under the Rapid Transit Systems Act;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“train fare” means the price payable by a passenger for any service involving the carriage of the passenger on a train operated by a licensed rapid transit system operator;
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]
“train service” means the service for the transport of passengers by one or more trains on a rapid transit system within Singapore for a fare.
[Act 31 of 2015 wef 22/01/2016]