For the clueless...

For those who are graduating from JC2 (i.e. most of us):

Your concession expires on 31 Dec 2006. After your concession eligibility has expired, the card can be used for a further 6 months. Adult fares will be deducted during the 6 months starting 1 Jan 2007 (aka tmr) and concession passes cannot be purchased.

MEANS: That blue ez-link card of yours with your cute cute primary school face that has been laughed at by classmates effectively becomes an adult ez-link card, albeit only for 6 months. No more unlimited 45c bus rides. No more cheap concession stamps. Oh ya and adult fares are DISTANCE-BASED.

You may request for an immediate refund (if any) at any Ticket Office during the 6 months grace period. After the 6 months period, the card will expire and cannot be used or refunded immediately. Instead, a receipt will be issued and the refund can be collected 5 working days later at any Ticket Office.

MEANS: Refund to get whatever left-over value and deposit that is left in your blue ez-link card back. Best to do this immediately within the 6 month grace period because Transitlink is infamous for their ineffectiveness.

You will need to purchase an adult ez-link card after the expiry of the original card. A new adult ezlink card is available at $15, consisting of $5 non-refundable card cost, $3 refundable deposit, and $7 travel value. You will need to use this card until you receive your tertiary/NSmen ez-link concession card from your respective university/ army unit.

MEANS: Guys enter NS in Jan/April. Gals apply for university in March. Unless the army is super ineffective, or the local universities are super slow, it is estimated that only one month is needed to process your new red/green card with your more adult face on it. Go do the math. I’m not sure whether tertiary institutions other than the 3 local unis do this though…

Tertiary ezlink cardholders are entitled to purchase monthly bus/train/hybrid concession passes at $52.00/$45.00/$97.00 respectively. NSF ezlink cardholders are entitled to purchase monthly bus/train/hybrid concession pases at $61.00/$50.00/$111.00 However, full adult fares are payable when such e-stamps are not encoded (for example buy bus stamp take MRT, pay adult MRT fares. Buy MRT stamp take bus, pay adult bus fares)

MEANS: You pay more for bus/train/hybrid stamps. No more nice and cheap $27.50 bus stamps liao. Apparently NSF pay more to compensate for the stench that BMT trainees bring onto the bus/MRT immediately after book-out (especially the book-out after field camp), but that’s my theory.