Enhanced Version Offers Unlimited Travel on Buses and Trains
Issued By: EZ-Link Pte Ltd
SINGAPORE, 6 July 2009 – EZ-Link Pte Ltd announced today that it will start the sale of the season travel pass that allows public transport commuters unlimited bus and train rides at a fixed price. The EZ-Link Season Pass is an extension of the new-generation ez-link card which is CEPAS compliant that went on sale in December 2008.
EZ-Link currently has a similar product called “The Singapore Tourist Pass” which offers tourists a choice of one, two or three day(s) unlimited all day travel on buses and trains for a fixed price. The EZ-Link Season Pass is the equivalent for Singapore residents and it comes with added enhancements such as unlimited travel on basic buses and train networks for a longer duration on a weekly or monthly basis, priced lower than The Singapore Tourist Pass and has built-in insurance coverage for first time loss or theft.
The season travel pass is the latest innovative product offered by EZ-Link in line with its vision to provide public transport commuters with a seamless travel experience. It is also in response to feedback from a select group of frequent and discerning commuters, who seek both the convenience of a season pass and the additional perks of retail merchants’ benefits that are relevant to them.
Mr Nicholas Lee, Executive Director of EZ-Link Pte Ltd,said, “We want to provide Singapore residents with more travel options that cater to different segments of commuters. The launch of the Singapore Tourist Pass allows us to ride on the same mechanism of convenience to provide our cardholders with an equivalent product. In coming up with this new product, we took into consideration the views of our focus groups and market research surveys, and developed a product that offers the frequent traveler a personalised card with the benefit of a season pass bundled together with merchant benefits and a built-in card insurance protection scheme.”
Like any other regular adult ez-link card with an ez-link purse, the EZ-Link Season Pass can be used for other micro payments so long as there is money or value encoded in the ez-link purse of the card. In addition, EZ-Link has partnered with two reputable brands on this product:
- Visa to offer holders of the EZ-Link Season Pass discounts on selected merchant promotions.
- ACE Insurance to provide for built-in insurance coverage on the first time loss or theft of a valid EZ-Link Season Pass.
Priced cheaper than the popular Singapore Tourist Pass, the EZ-Link Season Pass offers commuters two choices of passes – basic and enhanced. The Basic Pass is valid for unlimited bus trips and up to 4 train trips daily. The Enhanced Season Pass is valid for unlimited trips on both buses and trains.
The prices for the basic and enhanced tier and a promotion period are listed in the table below:
<table>
*Trains: MRT and LRT
*Buses: Basic Bus Services only. It does not include Express, Fast Forward, Nite Owl, Night Rider, CityShopper, Chinatown Direct, Stadium Direct, SMRT Link and any other premium services.
For the launch, EZ-Link is offering a promotion on the Basic Season Pass until 31 Oct 2009. Commuters can purchase the Basic Weekly season pass at a promotional price at $40, and the Basic Monthly season pass at a promotional price at $155.
Visa is partnering with EZ-Link to offer commuters holding both the EZ-Link Season Pass and a Visa Credit or Visa Debit card benefits and offers at merchants and retailers. Commuters only need to flash their EZ-Link Season Pass to enjoy these benefits.
To enjoy the EZ-Link Season Pass, commuters must first apply to purchase a new personalised ez-link card which is CEPAS compliant at $11; comprising of $3 initial top up value, $5 for the card cost and $3 for photo personalisation. Commuters who apply for the EZ-Link Season Pass card during the nationwide replacement period of the new generation CEPAS EZ-Link cards can enjoy a refund of $5 on the card cost with the surrender of their ez-link card.
The initial $3 top up value is the minimum purse value required for a season pass card. The small personalisation fee of $3 is a necessary security measure to prevent its abuse and to protect it against loss or theft. The activation of the season pass is done separately (refer to table above for the cost of activating the season pass). ACE Insurance will underwrite any first time loss or theft to cover the un-utilized pass and replacement card cost. Additional insurance coverage for the season pass also includes Accidental Death or Permanent Total Disablement while on a public conveyance.
Mr Kenneth Brown, Managing Director and Country Manager of ACE Singapore, said, “This collaboration leverages ACE’s risk management expertise to offer customers value-added protection that ensures their travel and personal safety.” Currently, ACE Insurance has an existing unique insurance scheme with EZ-Link for all ez-link card members. This scheme, known as “EZ-Link CardShield”, protects against loss of ez-link cards among many other benefits.
Applications can now be made by filling in and returning the application forms available from any TransitLink Ticket Offices or downloaded from the EZ-Link website – https://www.ezlink.com.sg/seasonpass.