Land Transport Authority

Land Transport Authority Penguasa Pengangkutan Darat 陆路交通管理局 நிலப் போக்குவரத்து வாரியம்
Website	www.lta.gov.sg
Ownership type	Government agency
Founded	1 September 1995
Headquarters	1 Hampshire Road, Singapore 219428 , Singapore

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Transport of the Government of Singapore.

Controversy

SimplyGo Scandal

LTA launched plan to replace older public transport payment cards with SimplyGo card by 1 June 2024, and it forces holders of older ez-link cards without SimplyGo to replace their card. The card's backward technology were widely criticised for unable to show the transaction data at fare gates and bus card readers. The transaction data can only be shown when using it's mobile application. Transport Minister at the time, Chee Hong Tat, mentioned in Parliament that LTA is not aware of any technical solutions that can overcome this “latency problem”, and claimed that other public transport systems around the world also have this limitation with their account-based systems.

The plan was later announced cancelled on 22 January 2024 after public backlash. Chee Hong Tat wrote on Facebook that the authorities will spend an extra $40 million (In Singapor Dollars) to allow commuters to continue using ez-link and Nets FlashPay cards, which use a card-based ticketing system that stores transaction data on the cards.

Observers said the cancellation of the plan exposed issues with the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) communication strategy and lack of preparedness according to The Straits Times, a Singapore local newspaper.