replace personalised ezlink card or get new 1 ?

bismarck SG

regarding the personalized sch ez link card..
i wonder is it feasible to replace the card or get new 1 because i am not sure what is the minimum amount i must spend on buses and trains for me to break even by buying the concession.

waht are the benefits of getting a concession ? i've never used it so not sure...

tertiary student here.

please advise

^tamago^ SG

the tertiary concession BCP is $52 and the TCP is $45. the HCP, which allows u unlimited trips on buses and maximum 4 cost-free rides on the MRT/LRT system, costs $97. for a 30-day month, the minimum current cost of rides u have to take on buses or MRT/LRT or both per day to make the pass feasible (break even) is $1.73, $1.50 and $3.23 respectively.

the benefits of getting concession passes for tertiary and NSF only lies in the ability to buys these concession passes. they could save u a great deal if u take a lot of bus trips everyday (like us bus fans) or maybe u jus have to go to a lot of places everyday. i used to chalk up more than $100 per month as a NSF when taking buses but now it's a flat $61, a savings out more than $50.

how come u need to replace the card or get a new one? lost it or your institution does not handle applications on your behalf?

bismarck SG

thanks
but how does the concession pass works ? simply have no idea..

actually i lost it..

another thing is, whether is it feasible to get the personalised one or just a normal card ? because i am in final year of poly..

shinta SG

if u hav not used it before, n u dun intend to use it, better to get teh normal adult card...

cos the tertiary card can only be used for 5 years after grad... of course u can't use the concession anymore..

bismarck SG

5years?! Shocked

bismarck SG

how come for the HCP only get 4 free mrt rides ? i mean isnt that like buying BCP and TCP ?

shinta SG

ya....in that 5 years, u can't get conc pass.. tho..

shinta SG

cos u can't own both a BCP n TCP at the same time.. say, ur BCP expires on 30 Sept.. u bought a TCP on 27 Sept.. that means an early expiry of ur BCP..

when u take a bus on 27 or 28, u hav the pay for the journey..

bismarck SG

the hcp thingy.
the entire month only 4 free rides????

leeJZ SG

4 free rides per day. 4 x 30 = 120 rides per month.

^tamago^ SG

when u board a bus, u tap it like any ez-link card. the special thing, no fare is deducted - it jus shows "PASS USAGE", even if u have $0.00 in ur card. same thing with MRT, except it shows something like "RIDES LEFT 3". all ur rides will be free in that month, unlimited for bus and 4 rides a day for MRT/LRT/NEL.

for final yr students, the decision is solely dependent on whether u need the pass to save on ur transport costs. unless u stay very near (spend up to $0.84 for a single trip from home to sch), getting a bus/train/hybrid pass will save any tertiary student a lot of money. even if i can only use it for a month, i'd gladly take it, needless to say for 12 months.

ur concession card can still function as a normal adult ez-link card after u've graduated. of cos, the difference is only the fact that ur face is on it, and if u lost ur card u can get back the last balance recorded on the ez-link system and disable the card with ur I/C at any TransitLink office.

^tamago^ SG

do note that if u move on to NS or uni, u'll be issued a new pass that u will be valid for purchase & usage of concession passes.

the tertiary card will continue to function as a normal adult ez-link card. how long u can use tis card as an adult card i'm not sure, but i guess u're correct (5 yrs).

kuekj SG

does this mean that for myself, when i grad from jc, i still can use that card, dun need to purchase an adult card while waiting to go ns?

bismarck SG

hmm
thanks..i did a brief calculation and i doubt i need the concession pass at all.
daily usage was ard 20-30cents below the amt needed to break even.

thanks anyway

so now my question is, whether shld i replace the personalised one or get a normal 1.

since i have lost it, how to stop the usage of the card? as in, if someone uses it then the system will track it?

service_238 SG

u're in J2?

technically when u finsh your As, your Concession will expire at the end of this year. Thereafter it will function as a normal adult ezlink card (with NO concession pass) for the 6 months after that. However, by then u'll be NS and soon u'll get your NS ezlink card. Smile

To the rest:
When u buy HCP, u CANNOT buy BCP and TCP. Let's say your HCP ends on 27th of the month, when u buy your nx BCP/TCP/HCP, it will take effect from 28th of the month. This is due to overlapping of the concession.

However, when u are on BCP/TCP and it ends on 27th of the month, your next BCP/TCP/HCP shall only start on 28th. Same concept as earlier para.

If you're on BCP/TCP and your nx pass u wanna buy is TCP/BCP respectively, the effective date can be as early as you buy the pass as there's no overlapping of any concession. Smile

kuekj SG

i did have a very unplesant experience at the start of last year because the auntie at the transitlink office is deaf or something, encoded me a bcp instead of a hcp.. then i quarrel with her she say cannot change cuz it's encoded already, so i write all the way to transitlink and they say "we have noted this and we have counselled the particular sales officer. her actions will also be noted (ha! I hope she's sacked.)" and they offered to change it to hcp.. but by the time letter send to me already 3/4 of the months gone..