Getting around Singapore: transport and apps

Just tap your bank card

• SimplyGo accepts contactless Visa, Mastercard and phone wallets on every MRT line and bus. No card to buy, no top-up, no queue.
• Foreign-issued cards pay a small daily admin fee of around S$ 0.60 on days you travel. It is not a scam and it is not worth avoiding for a short trip.
• An EZ-Link or Singapore Tourist Pass makes sense only if you are travelling very heavily or your card charges foreign transaction fees.
• Use the same card for every tap. Mixing cards splits your journeys and breaks the transfer discounts.

The network

• The MRT is fast, clean, air conditioned and goes almost everywhere you would want to go. This is a city where you genuinely do not need a car.
• Buses fill the gaps and are cheap, with the same tap-in tap-out system.
• Trains run roughly 05:30 to 23:30. Plan the last leg of a late night.
• Google Maps works well, and the LTA's own MyTransport app is better for live bus arrivals.

Taxis and Grab

• Grab is dominant and quotes an all-in fare. Gojek and TADA also operate.
• Street taxis are metered, honest and plentiful, which is not the norm in the region.
• Ride-hailing is genuinely expensive at peak times. The MRT is often faster anyway.

Rules on transport that carry real fines

• No eating or drinking on the MRT, including water. This is enforced.
• No durian. There is a pictogram for it and it is not a joke.
• No smoking or vaping anywhere on the network, and vaping is illegal across the whole country.
• Stand on the left of escalators, walk on the right.

Leaving Singapore overland

• Coaches to Johor Bahru, Melaka and Kuala Lumpur leave throughout the day and are the cheap way into Malaysia. 12Go covers most of these routes if you would rather book online in advance.
• The Woodlands and Tuas causeways are extremely busy at weekends and around public holidays, and a two-hour crossing is normal at those times.
• You clear both countries' immigration at the causeway, and you need your passport even for a day trip.