Pre-peak discount issue that affected 210,000 journeys a day on Aug 20 and 21 fixed: SimplyGo

SINGAPORE: SimplyGo says it has resolved an issue that prevented the pre-peak rail fare discount from being activated for an average of 210,000 journeys a day on Aug 20 and 21.

The issue, caused by a configuration error, affected SimplyGo EZ-Link and bank card transactions on both days, the company said in a Facebook post on Friday (Aug 21).

"Commuters will now see the correct fares, with the discount applied where eligible, in the SimplyGo app. This is the fare which will be charged,” SimplyGo added.

SimplyGo is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Land Transport Authority (LTA) that provides transit ticketing and travel card-related services. It was established in 2024 through the merger of EZ-Link and TransitLink.

The issue had earlier been flagged by some commuters on Reddit, who said the pre-peak discount was not reflected in their journeys despite them tapping in before the 7.45am cut-off.

The original poster said they had tapped in at 7.44am but noticed that the discount was missing when checking their transaction. Other Reddit users also reported similar experiences.

Under the Morning Pre-Peak Fares scheme, commuters who tap in at any rail station before 7.45am on weekdays, excluding public holidays, receive a discount of up to S$0.50 (US$0.39).

The discount is S$0.50 or the fare for the train trip of the journey, whichever is lower. The scheme was introduced in December 2017 to encourage more commuters to travel before the morning peak period.

SimplyGo also apologised for the inconvenience and thanked commuters for their patience and understanding.

Affected commuters who still have queries about their fares can contact the SimplyGo hotline at 6883 5048 from 8am to 6pm daily, excluding public holidays.