SimplyGo app shows Tower Transit bus travelled 35.4km in 16 minutes, that's 132.75kmh -- but how?

Was it the fault of the GPS on the bus?

A bus commuter was surprised to discover that he was overcharged for a trip when SimplyGo recorded the wrong bus stop where he boarded.

Stomper G used his SimplyGo-connected Mastercard to take Tower Transit bus service 857 from Yio Chu Kang Road to Yishun Avenue 2 on Jan 19.

The problem was the SimplyGo system wrongly recorded the bus stop as "Opp ST Electronics" instead of "ST Electronics", which was on the other side of the road indicating that the bus going in the opposite direction.

This resulted in the wrong distance recorded.

According to the SimplyGo app, the bus travelled 35.4km from 6.09pm to 6.25pm.

"How did the bus even travel 35.4km in 16 minutes?" asked the Stomper. "That would mean travelling at 132.75kmh."

The legal speed limit for buses in Singapore is 60kmh.

As a result of the wrong distance recorded, the Stomper was charged $2.32. The correct charge is $1.40 for the journey, which should be only 5.4km.

"So many people have boarded the bus at the same stop as me," said the Stomper. "They wouldn’t have realised it if they used SimplyGo as there was no way to see the fare deduction when you can’t even see the values on the screen.

"I was able to verify the amount deducted only after I got off as the SimplyGo app would usually have a delay when sending the notification of the trip."

The Stomper called Tower Transit but was told to contact Transit Link as it was a fare issue. Transit Link in turn told him to wait a few days for the outcome.

In response to a Stomp query, a Transit Link spokesperson said that the trip information reflected on the SimplyGo app is extracted from a backend system which captured and downloaded the data from the bus console. 

"Based on our checks, the commuter had filed a claim on the disputed trip on Jan 22," said the spokesperson.

"He had subsequently called our hotline to enquire when he would be updated on the claim outcome. He had been informed that he would be notified via the SimplyGo app between three to five working days, which he had acknowledged."

Stomp has contacted Tower Transit for more info.

"I believe many who boarded the bus would have been affected as well," said the Stomper. "So I'm hoping to shed some light so they can check if they have been wrongly charged too."

On Jan 26, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat acknowledged the authorities made a “judgment error” in deciding to phase out older public transport payment cards for adults, and underestimated how commuters wanted to continue seeing fare information and card balances.

The Land Transport Authority had announced on Jan 9 that it would retire the older card-based ticketing system – which ez-link and Nets FlashPay cards run on – by June 1. These cards were to be replaced by SimplyGo, an account-based system that processes fare payments at the back end, unlike the older system of storing transaction data on cards.

But the announcement was met with an outcry from passengers, who expressed frustration about their inability to see fare deductions and card balances when tapping out. Some who tried upgrading their ez-link cards on Jan 10 also faced delays due to a surge in transaction volume, reported The Straits Times.

On Jan 22, Mr Chee said the Government will spend an additional $40 million to extend the lifespan of the card-based ticketing system and allow passengers to continue using the older payment cards.