Public Transport Council to have new chief executive starting July 1

AN ADVISORY council to Singapore's Transport Ministry on public transport matters and fares is getting a new chief next month.

Tan Kim Hong, 44, will be appointed chief executive of the Public Transport Council (PTC) with effect from July 1, the Transport Ministry said in a release on Monday.

Mr Tan will succeed Alvin Chia, 47, who will return to the Land Transport Authority (LTA) after 18 months at PTC.

Mr Tan is currently deputy group director of the public transport group at LTA. He led various initiatives aimed at improving service reliability and commuter experience with public transport, including the Quality of Service (QoS) review, the Bus Service Reliability Framework, and the transition of the public bus industry to the bus contracting model, when he chaired the Manpower Transition Workgroup.

Mr Chia was appointed chief executive of PTC following the reconstitution of PTC as a body corporate entity on Jan 8, 2016. Prior to that, he had served on the council as secretary since June 2013.

During his time with PTC, Mr Chia played a key role in supporting the Fare Review Mechanism Committee in its review of the public transport fare formula and mechanism in 2013.

He also led PTC during the annual Fare Review Exercises from 2013 to 2016, which sought in public transport fares to strike a balance between the sustainability of Singapore's transport system and keeping fares affordable for commuters.

Mr Chia also oversaw the review of the role of PTC in 2015 when it transferred its bus regulatory powers to LTA. PTC then took on a new role as adviser to the Minister for Transport on transport matters.

The PTC is currently in the midst of reviewing Singapore's public transport fare adjustment formula and mechanism. It hopes to complete the review in the first quarter of 2018, and apply it starting from the 2018 annual Fare Review Exercise.