Bus and train ridership up, taxi rides down

Public transport patronage rose to hit another record high in 2018, with a total of 7.54 million taking buses or trains a day, or 3.8% more than in 2017. It was the 14^th consecutive annual increase in public transport ridership, according to figures released by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Wednesday (13 February).

The LTA said average rail daily ridership (MRT and LRT) chalked the highest increase of 5.7% to 3.5 million rides a day. Bus ridership rose by 2.2% to hit the four million mark for the first time. The growth in rail rides came on the back of a full-year operation of Downtown Line 3, while a bigger bus fleet had garnered more bus users.

In comparison, taxi rides continued to slide, with competition from private-hire operators. The LTA said cab rides fell by 17.6% to 647,000 trips a day. In the previous year, it fell by 18%.