That means fares on average could rise by one cent, the lowest in memory.

If fares had been allowed to go up by 3 per cent, the increase could have been between four and five cents.

Public Transport Council (PTC) chairman Gerard Ee said: 'The PTC would like to give the assurance that it will not turn a blind eye to a range of cost increases commuters have been facing.'

He added that the PTC was persuading public transport operators to shoulder part of the costs of removing the transfer penalty.

This 'penalty' is the extra amount paid by a commuter who transfers from bus to bus, bus to train or train to bus, compared to someone taking a direct service over the same distance.

Four in 10 commuters now make transfers, each of which adds around 35 cents to the cost.

Mr Ee, calling this year a 'challenge' for the PTC, said that if it worked 'carefully', fare increases could be expected 'to be below last year's cap of 1.8 per cent'.

Last year's fare increase cap pushed bus fares up by two cents.

'And there's a possibility that we can keep it within 1 per cent,' he said.

He added that some commuters could even end up paying less for their overall transport expenses.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Intelligent Transport Systems Asia-Pacific Forum & Exhibition at Suntec City, Mr Ee said: 'Our aim is to make sure that the greater majority of commuters will gain from the adjustment.'

Transport operators in turn will enjoy an increase in ridership as public transport becomes more attractive, so 'they should have something to be happy about too', he said.

Even so, he reckoned that 'commuters will love us, and the public transport operators will throw sticks at us'.

Mr Seah Kian Peng, who sits on the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, welcomed the news.

'Given the current environment, the lower the increase, the better. For the commuting public, the sums do add up because for them, what choice do they have?

'Whatever the quantum of increase, public transport operators must ensure that this translates to a better travel experience for commuters. If not, whether it is 1 or 3 per cent, commuters would be far from satisfied.'

National University of Singapore transport researcher Lee Der-Horng said raising the fares by the maximum allowable 3 per cent would send out a 'contradicting message, which is 'Please use public transport, but we'd like you to pay more''.

At the event, Transport Minister Raymond Lim defended the move to put up new electronic road-pricing gantries along the Singapore River.

Responding to feedback that they were hitting businesses, he said: 'The alternative of not doing this will actually be worse...If it's congested, people won't come into that area. The alternative does not make it any better.'

The three-day regional forum is hosted by Singapore, which is hoping to host the international equivalent scheduled for 2013.

christan@sph.com.sg

MORE REPORTS: SINGAPORE