More train rides in H1 2025, but overall public transport use still below 2019 levels

In the first six months of 2025, more rides were taken every day on Singapore's MRT and LRT lines on average, while the number of daily bus rides fell slightly, from the same period the year before.

- Kok Yufeng

But according to the latest figures, overall public transport ridership remains below pre-Covid-19 levels, standing at 7.47 million daily trips on average between January and June.

In comparison, an average of 7.66 million daily bus and train rides were logged in the first half of 2019. This is 2.5 per cent, or about 195,000, more than today's numbers.

Experts said the data provided to The Straits Times by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) is consistent with a shift away from buses towards an expanding rail network, as well as a structural change in travel patterns.

After recovering fully in 2024, train ridership here continued to grow to an average of 3.65 million rides a day between January and June.

This is up from an average of 3.57 million daily rides over the same period in 2024, and higher than the 3.56 million recorded in the first half of 2019.

Public bus ridership, on the other hand, fell to an average of 3.82 million rides daily, down from 3.85 million in the first half of 2024.

In comparison, there was an average of 4.1 million public bus trips daily in the first half of 2019, before the pandemic struck.

Another notable trend is that public transport ridership during weekday morning peak hours continues to be lower than before Covid-19.