COMMUTERS on premium bus services will soon have to pay more in bus fares, with bus operators here hit by higher fuel prices.

SBS Transit, which runs the majority of premium bus services, has been given the go-ahead by the Public Transport Council (PTC) to raise fares by 30 to 60 cents on its 40 premium services, up to a maximum of $3.60 per trip.

Details on when the fare hike will kick in are being worked out. Currently, SBS Transit's premium bus services charge $2.70 to $3.60 per trip. The operator's premium services make up more than half of 76 such services islandwide.

Fares on its remaining five services, and three others operated by its subsidiary Bus-Plus, remain the same. Besides the two transport giants, smaller players in the premium service market have also applied to raise fares.

Among them are the Singapore School Transport Association (SSTA), which runs five premium services at $2.50 per trip, and Bus Hub, which operates two services charging $4 and $5 respectively. Both hope to raise their fares by 50 cents to a dollar.

The PTC, which approves bus fare increases, said guidelines require premium bus fares to be at least 1.5 times the equivalent fare of basic public transport services.

Once these guidelines are met, the PTC 'generally would not object to changes in premium bus services fares as operators make their own commerical assessments and risks to adjust their service pricing,' said the council.

Commuters, while acknowledging higher fuel costs, said they will consider other travel options if fares become too costly. The premium bus service market has grown steadily over the past few months as part of a Government push to get more Singaporeans to switch from driving to public transport.

SBS Transit said ridership on its premium services has been growing gradually and most of the seats are full on some services.

It will roll out six new premium services on Monday.