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posted by martyb on Wednesday October 25 2017, @12:36AM   Printer-friendly
from the you-cannot-register-your-vehicle-until-another-one-dies dept.

Singapore, among the world's most expensive places to own a vehicle, will stop increasing the total 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, the transport regulator said on Monday.

"In view of land constraints and competing needs, there is limited scope for further expansion of the road network," the Land Transport Authority said in a statement on its website. Roads already account for 12 percent of the city-state's total land area, it said.

Smaller than New York City, 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 ($21 billion) more on rail and bus transportation over the next five years, the regulator said.

Does Singapore's transportation future lie with Segways?


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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday October 25 2017, @02:37AM (8 children)

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday October 25 2017, @02:37AM (#587237)

    I'm not sure why anyone bothers driving a car in Singapore. The public transport is clean, regular and efficient.

    Also, it's a tiny island. Unless you're going to Malaysia, there's nowhere in particular to drive.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by qzm on Wednesday October 25 2017, @04:08AM

      by qzm (3260) on Wednesday October 25 2017, @04:08AM (#587259)

      Because cars are a large status symbol, and showing that you can afford to pay the huge duties (especially for large engine European models) is a strong status symbol indeed.

      On the flip side, as some of that duty can be regained when the cars are re-exported, it is a good source of high spec 2nd hand cars ;)

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 25 2017, @05:31AM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 25 2017, @05:31AM (#587278)

      SG may have clean, (semi-)regular, cheap and efficient public transport, but if you get off work at 3am in West Bumfuck Jurong, bus and train services not running, all taxis waiting on Orchard Road, you might like some personal motorized transport.

      • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 25 2017, @06:23AM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 25 2017, @06:23AM (#587293)
        Yeah I've wondered how viable is it to keep the MRT in Singapore running for extended hours (maybe even 24 hours for most days except maintenance days). I'm sure there will be people who'd want to use it.

        To me a rich and densely populated country like Singapore shouldn't even need to charge for public transport.

        It's a bit like a mall or office letting people use the elevators and escalators for free. Yes it costs significant money to keep that running safely but a city/mall is supposed to make its "big money" from other sources not public transport :).
        • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Wednesday October 25 2017, @03:37PM (1 child)

          by Grishnakh (2831) on Wednesday October 25 2017, @03:37PM (#587411)

          Honestly, I'd love to see a shopping mall start charging fees for using the elevator, escalator, or public restroom. It'd be funny to see how long it took for that mall to wind up on deadmalls.com. But I wouldn't put it past some stupid executive to try such a thing.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 25 2017, @05:52PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 25 2017, @05:52PM (#587468)

            I remember our mall having pay locks on the bathroom stalls in the early 1980s. I took pride in being able to go under the door and shit for free.

    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 25 2017, @06:29AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 25 2017, @06:29AM (#587297)
      A car makes it easier to travel with young children (plural).

      Lots of people in Singapore actually don't have a car till they start a family.

      Probably one of the reasons why not as many Singaporeans are starting families? Many are OK with renting a room and taking the bus and MRT when they are single but they don't want that sort of thing for their children (e.g. whole family sharing one or two rooms).
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 25 2017, @01:52PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 25 2017, @01:52PM (#587367)

        I would say it is like those dystopian mice experiments. The psychological effect of living in a densely populated metropolis, with no way out, do take their toll. I had some contact with people from Singapore a good decade ago, I wasn't working and played World of Warcraft during daytime hours. And surprisingly they were the only active bunch of players on the US servers at that time (well Chinese gold farmers too). Had some great times with those guys :)

      • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Wednesday October 25 2017, @03:44PM

        by Grishnakh (2831) on Wednesday October 25 2017, @03:44PM (#587415)

        Lots of people in Singapore actually don't have a car till they start a family.

        This is how it is in Japan too. There's little reason to have a car because public transit is generally faster, and a whole lot cheaper. But cars make it easier to get around with little kids.

        Probably one of the reasons why not as many Singaporeans are starting families?

        One of many probably. Having kids is just a gigantic pain in the ass in so many ways; I'm not sure why anyone bothers any more. You don't get any time to yourself for at least a decade, you don't get much sleep, you have to worry about being arrested for child neglect in the USA if your kid goes outside to play, your health insurance rates go through the roof, and all for what? So you can have some offspring that, in the best case, grows up to not be a dud and is a self-supporting member of society, but you never get to see because they're too busy going to work every day like everyone else.

  • (Score: 2) by legont on Wednesday October 25 2017, @10:42PM

    by legont (4179) on Wednesday October 25 2017, @10:42PM (#587605)
    --
    "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
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