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Starting Next Year, Singapore will Stop Adding Car Numbers

Starting Next Year, Singapore will Stop Adding Car Numbers
Singapore road © Singapore MoT

Singapore, among one of the world’s most expensive places to own a vehicle, will stop increasing the number of cars on its roads next year. The government will cut the annual growth rate for cars and motorcycles to zero from 0.25 percent starting in February 2018.  

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that the scarcity of land and public transport upgrades as reasons for the cap. Singapore has strict policies aimed at limiting the number of cars on its roads. Car ownership rates are far lower in Singapore than in other wealthy countries.

Land in Singapore is a precious commodity and officials want to ensure the most productive use of the remaining space. Its infrastructure is among the world’s most efficient and the government is investing S$28 billion more on rail and bus transportation over the next five years, the regulator said. 

In addition to caps, Singapore has a deliberate policy of elevating the cost of owning a car in an effort to reduce the number of vehicles on the road. It does this through a system which requires bidding for the right to own and use a vehicle for a limited number of years, known as a Certificate of Entitlement (COE).

As a result, a mid-range car in Singapore can typically cost about four times as much as it would in many other countries.  

Despite the government's policies, there are nearly one million vehicles on Singapore's roads. Just over 600,000 of those are private and rental cars, including cars used by ride-hailing services such as Uber and Grab.

The LTA said there are limitations to expanding the tiny country's road network. Roads take up 12% of the country's total land area, which is a far higher percentage than in many larger countries. 

Fewer cars mean less room would be needed for parking lots, freeing up valuable urban land for other, more productive uses such as parks, recreational facilities, bike lanes, and walking paths.

(from various sources : Channel NewsAsia | BBC | Bloomberg | The Guardian )

 
 
Akhyari Hananto

I began my career in the banking industry in 1997, and stayed approx 6 years in it. This industry boost his knowledge about the economic condition in Indonesia, both macro and micro, and how to More understand it. My banking career continued in Yogyakarta when I joined in a program funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB),as the coordinator for a program aimed to help improve the quality of learning and teaching process in private universities in Yogyakarta. When the earthquake stroke Yogyakarta, I chose to join an international NGO working in the area of ?disaster response and management, which allows me to help rebuild the city, as well as other disaster-stricken area in Indonesia. I went on to become the coordinator for emergency response in the Asia Pacific region. Then I was assigned for 1 year in Cambodia, as a country coordinator mostly to deliver developmental programs (water and sanitation, education, livelihood). In 2009, he continued his career as a protocol and HR officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Surabaya, and two years later I joined the Political and Economic Section until now, where i have to deal with extensive range of people and government officials, as well as private and government institution troughout eastern Indonesia. I am the founder and Editor-in-Chief in Good News From Indonesia (GNFI), a growing and influential social media movement, and was selected as one of The Most Influential Netizen 2011 by The Marketeers magazine. I also wrote a book on "Fundamentals of Disaster Management in 2007"?, "Good News From Indonesia : Beragam Prestasi Anak Bangsa di dunia"? which was luanched in August 2013, and "Indonesia Bersyukur"? which is launched in Sept 2013. In 2014, 3 books were released in which i was one of the writer; "Indonesia Pelangi Dunia"?, "Indonesia The Untold Stories"? and "Growing! Meretas Jalan Kejayaan" I give lectures to students in lectures nationwide, sharing on full range of issues, from economy, to diplomacy Less
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