In an attempt to expand public transport, Singapore has announced plans to freeze the number of private cars allowed on the roads.
The Land Transport Authority said the growth gap for vehicles and motorcycles will reduce from 0.25 to zero percent. The state already is the most expensive place to own a vehicle and has several processes to avoid the traffic jams that affect other cities.
For example, there is a system in place that requires people to bid for the right to own and use a vehicle. This is otherwise known as a Certificate of Entitlement (COE).
A report by Deutsche Bank found that a new midsize car will cost around $90,000 in Singapore. This is compared to the $24,000 it would cost in the UK and the US.
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked Singapore as the most expensive city in the world, placed above the likes of Zurich, Hong Kong, Geneva and Paris.
In a statement, the Land Transport Authority said there were already 600,000 private cars in Singapore at the end of 2016. 12 percent of the state’s land areas is currently taken up by roads and there is now limited room for expansion.
The country’s population has risen by an estimated 40 percent since 2000 to about 5.6 million. The 600,000 cars on the roads include those that are used by drivers that work with ride-hailing services such as Grab and Uber.
The government are planning to invest Sg$28 billion over the next five years in the public transport system, which has recently seen many breakdowns.
Singapore has already expanded the length of its rail network by 30 percent, as well as adding new routes to its bus network.
Whilst the growth rate for cars will reduce to zero percenSingaporeoer will keep the growth rate for goods vehicles and buses at 0.25 percent until the first quarter of 2021.
The rate for private cars will be reviewed in 2020.