Are travel costs eating into your monthly budget? Singapore may be small and well connected with public transport, but when you are trying to manage your finances, any recurring expense can quickly culminate into an end-of-the-month stumbling block. Here are some quick, smart and healthy tips to help you cut down on your city travel bill:
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To save on MRT costs, you could check with your workplace about staggered timings and get yourself an off-peak monthly travel pass. This pass offers you unlimited travel during off-peak hours on weekdays and through the day on weekends and on public holidays. There is also a 7.45am tap out for free offer at selected stations. Imagine all that you could accomplish with an early morning start!
Of late, there have been a closely contested war-of-the-bus-apps on the island, resulting in the creation of extremely neat apps that give you an idea of the status and connectivity of our public transport. So, when you have access to details like how many people there are in the taxi queue, it might be easier and cheaper to track the bus that runs on the same route and head for the bus stop instead. Arm your smartphone with My Transport Singapore, SBS Transit IRIS and SG Buses Delight – and save a few dollars.
If the MRT and buses don’t float your boat and you find cabbing too expensive, give uberPOOL or Grabshare a go. At about 25 to 30 percent cheaper than the regular taxi companies, carpooling makes cab rides affordable in Singapore. And this transportation option helps you cut down your carbon footprint too. Win-win!
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Probably the best and easiest way to save precious money on transport in Singapore is to hop onto a free shuttle service. These designated shuttles let you do away with fare calculation and EZ-link card deductions by giving you a free ride to your destination of choice. More and more shopping malls offer this service during lunch times or on weekends so do your research.
Apps like GoThere.sg and Street Directory not only offer directions to get around Singapore, they also provide the cheapest and shortest route options to and fro destinations. This means that you will not only know the directions from, say, Serangoon to Orchard, but you’ll also be able to choose the most economical way, be it by bus, MRT, taxi or a combination of these.
If using a car is your mode of transport – be it by choice or necessity, your budget is bound to take a significant hit. Here is how you can minimise the damage to your savings caused by recurring petrol expenditures. Get familiar with various credit cards offering schemes on petrol expenses and choose the one that suits your routine. Cards like the HSBC Visa Platinum Credit Card and the Citi Cash Back Card offer hefty cash rebates at Caltex, Esso and Shell petrol stations plus station discounts.
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With the right credit card, you get to earn cash back rebates! If you own the OCBC Frank card, you can get 6 percent cash back rebates on all of your NETS FlashPay Auto Top-Up transactions. Others include the POSB Everyday Card and the Citibank SMRT Platinum Visa Card. If you apply for the EZ-Reload Auto Top-Up, you can get 2 percent cash back rebates. Shop around for the best card for your needs and see your saved dollars add up.
It is time to make that community work for you. If you have celebrated festivals with your neighbours, organised Sunday picnics and got together at the local food court, then why not create HDB or condo carpools? This will help save travel costs for many families and be efficient too. Using WhatsApp can easily help co-ordinate timings and locations.
It goes without saying that the early bird gets the worm but in the case of MRT rides in Singapore, this is actually true! Free early morning MRT rides to 18 designated MRT stations* in the city area before 7.45am on weekdays has been extended till 30 June 2017. For those who miss the cut-off timing for free travel by a few minutes, you can still enjoy 50 cents off your train fare if you exit at any of the 18 stations* between 7.45am and 8.00am on weekdays.
*Bayfront, Bras Basah, Bugis, Chinatown, City Hall, Clarke Quay, Dhoby Ghaut, Downtown, Esplanade, Lavender, Marina Bay, Orchard, Outram Park, Promenade, Raffles Place, Somerset, Tanjong Pagar and Telok Ayer.
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Underrated yet effective, walking or cycling is a great way to save money on city travel. Singapore is very pedestrian friendly with stringent traffic rules, organised traffic, and pedestrian friendly crossings; getting from one place to another on foot is a walk in the park. The city is also warming up to cyclists, so being aware and wearing the right gear will help you enjoy your early morning bike rides. And, this has multiple benefits – you save on cab/bus fare and you stay fit without paying for the gym.
(A version of this story first appeared on BankBazaar.sg, a leading online marketplace in Singapore that helps consumers compare best offers across all financial products: personal loans, home loans, car loans, credit cards & investments.)