Public Transport Council Act 1987

Public Transport Council Act 1987 2020 REVISED EDITION This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021 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. [31/2015; 20/2019] [14 August 1987] PART 1 PRELIMINARY Short title 1. This Act is the Public Transport Council Act 1987. 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 1961) 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; “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; “bus” means any motor vehicle registered as a bus under the Road Traffic Act 1961; “bus fare” means the price payable by a passenger for any bus service involving the carriage of the passenger on a bus; “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; “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 predetermined 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 in the Gazette; “bus service licence” means a licence granted (or deemed granted) under the Bus Services Industry Act 2015 to operate one or more bus services; “Chairperson” means the Chairperson of the Council and includes any temporary Chairperson of the Council; “Chief Executive” means the Chief Executive of the Council, and includes any individual acting in that capacity; “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; “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; “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; “Land Transport Authority of Singapore” or “LTA” means the public authority of that name constituted under the Land Transport Authority of Singapore Act 1995; “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 1995 in the case of an operator of a rapid transit system; (c) licensed under the Road Traffic Act 1961 in the case of a taxi driver; or (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; “licensee” means a person to whom any licence has been granted under this Act; “limited liability partnership” has the meaning given by section 4(1) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005; “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 or she is a director of the company; and (b) in relation to a limited liability partnership, has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005; “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; “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; “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; “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 (b) a public transport official while carrying out work or on duty in that capacity; “penalty fee” means the penalty fee referred to in section 53; “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; (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; “pricing policy” means the policy for setting any fare, including a policy relating to the level or structure of prices for any fare; “public authority” means a body established or constituted by or under a public Act to perform or discharge a public function; “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; “public bus services contract” has the meaning given by the Bus Services Industry Act 2015; “public service vehicle” has the meaning given by the Road Traffic Act 1961; “Public Transport Fund” means the fund of that name established under Part 4; “public transport official” means an individual appointed by the Council as a public transport official under section 51; “rapid transit system” has the meaning given by the Rapid Transit Systems Act 1995; “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; “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; “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; “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; “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; “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; “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; “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; “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 1961 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; “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 1961 to stand or ply for hire on a road; “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; “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 the smartcard reader that the transaction is successful; “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; “taxi” means any public service vehicle which is classified as a taxi under the Second Schedule to the Road Traffic Act 1961; “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; “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) any other services that the Council may, by order in the Gazette, prescribe; “ticket payment service licence” means a licence granted under Part 5; “ticket transaction” means any record of a fare deduction created by the use of a mode of payment for tickets; “train” means a train used as part of a rapid transit system the operation of which is licensed under the Rapid Transit Systems Act 1995; “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; “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. [30/2015; 31/2015; 5/2018; 20/2019]