Regulating School Bus Fares

Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry will regulate school bus fares charged by school bus operators so as to keep transport services affordable for students who need such services.

Mr Lui Tuck Yew: School bus services are customised to meet the needs of individual schools and parents, and school bus fares will need to take into account specific operating considerations, such as route distance, capacity of buses and the number of students along the route. As such, they are not amenable to a common fare structure. On the other hand, capping school bus fares arbitrarily may result in a situation where some schools and students are under-served.

For these reasons, it is better to let school bus fares be market determined. MOE schools use a competitive process to invite bids from the operators. The competitiveness of fares proposed by tenderers is one of the key evaluation factors considered by the schools, although the eventual fares payable are negotiated between the parents and the successful operator.

On our part, the Government has put in place measures to help school bus operators keep their operating costs low so that they can offer more competitive fares. For example, private bus owners are given a 50% road tax rebate if their buses are also used to provide school bus services. Those registered as School Buses are exempted from Certificate of Entitlement requirements.