Planning public transport trip is important as it not only allows us to find the correct and shortest route to the destination, it also saves time for travelling.
Some applications provide a few alternative routes based on the cheapest fares and also calculates the total fares for us.
We can evaluate which is the best or cheapest route so it can be calculated into our monthly travel expenses. Here are some of the websites that I used:
Gothere.sg - Website (Free) and iOS App(Paid)
I ranked this as my first choice because their website has a user-friendly interface which is easy to use. Moreover, they constantly update and improve their functions which provide the best results among other services most of the time.
Some other useful functions include:
- Filter based on Bus, Train + Bus, Taxi and Driving
- Alternative routes
- Estimation of total time, fare and transfers
- Clearly indicate the routing details on which stop to alight and which MRT exit to go out
- Map with icons to guide you where to transfer and how to walk to the destination
Function is quite similar as Gothere.sg but the map is different. It is also a bit confusing and slow although it is still on beta as of time of writing.
OneMap - Website (Free)
It does provide free excellent map software for iOS and Android but it does not support public transit function as of time of writing.
The things I don't really like are some of the suggested routing details are not as good as compared to Gothere.sg. It also never display the total fare as well.
SBS Transit Plan My Route - Website (Free) and Android/iOS App (Free)
Conclusion
Different websites provide different methods of calculation so it is best to compare different websites and see which one gives you the best results.I will usually compare Gothere.sg with Google Maps results. Most of the time I am satisfied with Gothere.sg results as it provides the total travel fares so that it is convenient when I keep track of my monthly travel expenses.
Saving Tips
If you travel long distances frequently, check out http://www.transitlink.com.sg to see if you are eligible for concession pass. For instance, if you are a tertiary student and takes train from Sengkang to Dover every weekday, it will costs you S$2 X 2 per weekday. For the monthly calculation, it should be around an average of S$4 X 23 = S$92. It is definitely a good choice to purchase a Train Concession Pass (TCP) at S$45. You will save around 50%!You can try out some of the above-mentioned websites to see which of them provides the cheapest total travel fares although the disadvantage might be you need to do more transfers. In any cases whereby you need to do your own travel fare calculation, do check out the distance fare calculator at http://www.publictransport.sg/content/publictransport/en/homepage/eServices/farecalculator.html
In the next article, I will talk about how to utilise distance fares scheme.
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