Singaporeans are in for a new surprise starting with the month of February 2018, when a new policy concerning vehicles will start being effective. The government will try to cut down the number of vehicles available in the market to ensure a 0% vehicle growth rate for vehicle. The policy has as main purpose a significant diminish in the number of cars, which already shrunk considerably in the past years.
Moving towards a car-lite SIngapore
The reduction in private transport was necessary because many city dwellers dreamt of owning a car. But, now that the car population is decreasing, even with the 0.25% growth allowed, it came naturally for this policy to emerge and stimulate even more this descending trend. Thus, if in 2013 there were 607,292 vehicles in Singapore, in September 2017, their number dropped with 10.4%, reaching the lowest number of cars in the city since 2008.
So, what led to this decrease?
Apparently, the 3-month lag between deregistration of a vehicle and its certificate of entitlement recycling was one of the main causes. A couple of years ago, when the growth in this sector was consistent enough, this particular lag was unnoticeable. But, in the past 5 years, the oversupplied certificates of entitlement generated this shrinkage that is continuing to evolve even in present days. So, the zero-growth policy will simply lead to a depopulation when it comes to car numbers. According to the Government, the people living in Singapore will not feel significant effects of this policy because they already have services to cover this particular need. Increases in the demand for services of private-hire vehicles is already noticeable and so is the growth in the demand for autonomous cars.
How many people will have to let their cars go?
Well, approximately 5% of the households in Singapore already had to give their cars up, which means 63,000 households and the same number of cars, if we assume that each household owned one car. By 2023, 100,000 more families will have to do the same. Assuming that one family has 4 members, it will mean that 400,000 people will have to look for alternative transportation means, other than their personal cars. For the local Government, it will mean more people that will start using public transportation, a goal which the authorities have been pursuing for a very long time. That’s not necessarily a bad thing if the current infrastructure of public transportation will be capable of handling this considerable growth of commuters.
What will happen with the aspirations of owning a car?
Currently, 40% of households are owning a car, but these numbers will have to drop to 30% very soon. But, according to the Government, such measures are necessary because land in Singapore is already scarce while the country’s population is growing, roads occupying too much of it at this point.
How will this affect Singapore, its inhabitants, investors, and business sector?
Concerning the properties available in the city, the price of those that are near public transportation, especially those close to train stations, will certainly grow. This will be triggered by the fact that future home buyers will look for convenience more than they did before, considering that they can no longer own a car. But, in the end, these are just a couple of assumptions, as we will have to wait and see the real effects of this new policy.
New launch condos that are within 5 minutes walk to MRT station
New Launches that are near public transport such as bus stops / LRT stations
