Member-only story
The internet and media has been buzzing since the Land Transport Authority (LTA)’s announcement on 9 January that they will no longer accept legacy stored value cards for public transport fare payment — EZ-link adult cards and NETS FlashPay cards by 1 June 2024.
As per most government-related communications to the public or media, there is usually no clear or detailed explanation for implementing a new rule. The ‘reason’ cited in the LTA media release was, “With the growing adoption of SimplyGo payment methods, and the legacy card-based ticketing system for adult commuters nearing the end of its operational lifespan, we are therefore transitioning all adult commuters to the SimplyGo platform by 1 June 2024.”
It is like saying because less people are using a service or product, so we just cancel lor.
Panic ensued with this announcement as local media outlets started sharing news pieces on it to the point where LTA said “a surge in transaction volumes has caused the SimplyGo app and ticketing machines to be less responsive” in a CNA article dated 12 January 2024. Basically a lot people became paranoid after reading the news and all rushed to the ticketing machines to upgrade their legacy stored value cards at the same time.
