Hello everyone from Signapore. I just have a few questions that are racking my brain. From what I see in pics and know Signapore is one of the densest places around. But in alot of the pictures I see, the roads look really empty. Is traffic in your great city on average good or bad? Do many people drive or mostly do people rely on public transit?

Peak Hour traffic........

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/ylstan03/Bus%20ride/DSCN20281.jpg

Traffic here is very good as compared to cities like Bangkok and KL.:)

We have the Certificate Of Entitlement (COE), which one has to bid on to be able to buy a car.It can cost S$30, 000 plus.This actually limits the number of cars on the road.

only about 1 in 10 people in singapore have a car, or one third of families. the government says it's trying to increase the number to 1 in 7, and has dropped one of the taxes on imported cars (all are imported) from 120% to 110%.. great help that is! dunno if there are other taxes on cars themselves, but you have to add on the cost of a coe, as mentioned by redstone. at its peak in 1997 or 96 or 95 or soemthing, coes cost up to S$100,000 which would probably be about US$70,000 at that time!

road tax is rather hefty too but i dont know how much. in addition there are tolls for driving into the central area, so all in all, driving in singapore is really expensive. oh and petrol isn't too cheap compared to most other countries too.

heirloom, I was a bit surprised knowing that Singapore government trying to increase car ownership rate. In my point of view, better build more MRT lines (hopefully until it's as dense as in Paris) to accomodate people mobility. Increasing car ownership will increase polution and dependency on petrol import.
Jakarta, for instance, suffers a lot from high number of car ownership and the government has been constantly critized for not seriously delivering adequate public transportation to us.

heirloom, I was a bit surprised knowing that Singapore government trying to increase car ownership rate.

Its called "the candies for votes" trick. :) They let you buy the car but they rob you at the toll gates. On one occasion, I paid about SGD$6, throughout a 30mins drive, going pass gantries after gantries.......

In general, I think traffic in Singapore is not that bad. At least, I don't get gridlocks most of the time. Heavy traffic yes, slow moving yes, but I'm still moving.

they're going both ways i guess - the 29 station circle line is under construction now, and there are at least a few more lines and a number of lrt lines in the pipeline. the aim is to have 500 km of railway - that's about 1/6th of total road length.

as for increasing car ownership... hrm i suppose it might be for raising the standard of living? pollution due to car exhaust is quite low in singapore because every vehicle has to have a catalytic converter fitted. furthermore most cars are less than 4 years old as buyers find they get the best value out of their car by scrapping new cars within 4 years (due to the intricacies of the coe system). as for petrol import, i imagine singapore's a really minuscule market (in terms of vehicular consumption) because we've got so little people, so i guess it's not too big a concern... besides you can't really use tooo much fuel driving to and fro work in such a small country..

So basically, the traffic is quite good in Sg, but it would cloes to impossible for say an average teenager to afford a car and be able to drive around in it like say in the states.

that's right

So basically, the traffic is quite good in Sg, but it would cloes to impossible for say an average teenager to afford a car and be able to drive around in it like say in the states.


Yes, you won't find used cars with a 4 digit price tags around.

There are jams along Orchard Road.But I myself was never caught in a long jam.Only short ones.

ugh it's terrible to be in a bus along orchard road when its jammed.. while it takes barely 8 minutes for an mrt train to go from orchard to city hall, it might take an hour on a bus!!!

Yah, might as well walk!

I was once stuck in one for 10 minutes without moving.This is actually short.

We have the Certificate Of Entitlement (COE), which one has to bid on to be able to buy a car.It can cost S$30, 000 plus.This actually limits the number of cars on the road.

How it's procedure if we want to have a car in sg?how many tax for one car ?

from http://www.onemotoring.com.sg/publish/onemotoring/en/motoring/information/left/buy_a_new_vehicle0/car_cost.html

Registration Fee (RF) - $140
Additional Registration Fee (ARF) - 110% of OMV (original market value)
Certificate of Entitlement (COE) - Bid in Categories A, B or E
Customs Duty - 20% of OMV


coe is usually about 30k and the car dealer will usually take care of it for you

oh look i found anew photohost that doesnt totally mess up large files!

http://files.photojerk.com/sybarite/IMGP5488.JPG

heirloom, I was a bit surprised knowing that Singapore government trying to increase car ownership rate. In my point of view, better build more MRT lines (hopefully until it's as dense as in Paris) to accomodate people mobility. Increasing car ownership will increase polution and dependency on petrol import.
Jakarta, for instance, suffers a lot from high number of car ownership and the government has been constantly critized for not seriously delivering adequate public transportation to us.

For your information, MRT lines are already expanding in Singapore. Take a look at http://www.lta.gov.sg/projects/proj_maps_rail_l.htm

Singapore Government wants to achieve more than 500 km network of rail lines.

It will reach the network which is dense as Paris in future. Singapore Government also invest in billions of dollars in public transport including MRT and public buses. The frequency of most bus services are between 2 to 10 mins, subject to peak hours and off peak hours. The frequency of train services are between 2 mins and 7mins depending on peak hours and non peak hours.

If you notice empty wide roads, these are normally during off peak hours where there are less traffic. But on expressways - always have traffic the whole day.

Every major road would be flooded with heavy traffic during peak hours where people are rushing to their destination, be it school or office or home.

Traffic jams normally last up to 15 mins or more. There is rarely one hour traffic jam on our roads because Land Transport Authority always design and plan roads or even improve the road sytems, knowing that any delays in traffic can cost millions of dollars in productivity!

When a major road is in trouble (say Nicoll Highway caved in), most alternative roads will be heavily used. LTA quickly adjusted and changed the lanes in the roads to ensure smooth flow.

Simply everything works.

Road policies planned by the Government also play the role to control car populations - for example, Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) where motorists have to pay to use the roads during certain times, high COE as what my Singaporean fellows have written in the recent postings.

For many tourists who land in Singapore will be amazed with the number of cars in a small country where the car cost is very very high (actually ridiculous by world standard).

The cheapest vehicles teenagers can buy - motorbikes. For lucky teens who have driven their own cars - either they come from rich family or they hold good executive job that pays well or some even won cars in lucky draw!

Singapore has to control cars - imagine 4 million people in Singapore (this is the size of estimated population of Singapore) have 4 millions cars. Surely the entire road system is JAMMED!

How does COE works? Is it 1-COE-1-car or can be 1-to-many? Does it have limitation in time?

How does COE works? Is it 1-COE-1-car or can be 1-to-many? Does it have limitation in time?
For a brief introduction, you bid for the COE as thou you are bidding for an auction item. The highest bidders winsa limited number of COEs given out. One COE allows you to drive one car only, and it stays with the car till it is time to be scraped (usually 10 years?).

can one sell his/her COE to others? or it goes along with the car? Apart from number of bidders what makes COE price so cheap or so expensive?

please don't be disturbed with many questions I ask, I may be relocated to Singapore :)

JediAlf, thanks for the link and your reply....

yes the coe goes along with the car to the next owner, but these days people dont really sell their cars anymore. if you do a calculation of the depreciation of your car, you'll find that it is best to buy a brand new car and scrap it after four years (i think that's assuming you take a 7 year loan - not sure about this).. when you 'scrap', or de-register the car you get back a fixed value based on the age of the car - the value does not change even if its dented, damaged, perhaps even destroyed (?)

coe is expensive or cheap solely based on demand? there are only 2500 a month i think..

there was one freak month many years ago when the coe for one category of car was only $50... i dont think that ever repeated itself.. it went back into the 40-50 thousands the next month..

can one sell his/her COE to others? or it goes along with the car? Apart from number of bidders what makes COE price so cheap or so expensive?

please don't be disturbed with many questions I ask, I may be relocated to Singapore :)

JediAlf, thanks for the link and your reply....
Haha......ask ask! We need to find out for ourselves too! :D

Usually when someone sells his car, he will sell the COE along with it. As for the COE prices, its as simple and open as an auction....the minimum starting bid is $1, and you can monitor the current prices based on how much others are bidding for it. In an ideal world, if EVERYONE bids $1, then EVERYONE will pay just $1 for the COE! :D

p.s. ops....didnt realise heir replied already!

off peak traffic volume

http://files.photojerk.com/sybarite/IMGP4238.JPG

Traffic in Singapore isn't at all bad. Try driving in London, Manchester etc at rush hour, it brings a whole new meaning to road rage!.... and pay British prices for petrol!

The thing is Singapore isn't that big (I think it's just zone one on the London Underground map) ... and well, despite what most singaporeans say, you don't need a car....

although the independence factor is the thing. I miss just being able to jump in the car and zoom off. Plus it'd make taking pics easier. I wanted to go to Changi prison area and by the time I got there I wasn't at all interested in taking pics .... (45 mins on the mrt, plus another 15 min bus ride .... but by car, it would have been no more than 20mins!!)

However, it is painful paying for a car here, I think of what I'd pay back home and it just brings tears to the eyes :)

Although the number of BMWs, Mercs and Jags on the road surprises me greatly ... why? Singaporeans don't seem to like small cars.

I saw the KIA thing the other day, small, affordable :D might just buy it! :)

Peak hour traffic at New Upper Changi Road(near Bedok MRT):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/ylstan03/Miscelleneous/DSCN28971.jpg

Traffic outside Raffles City in the morning(around 10 plus):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/ylstan03/Miscelleneous/DSCN29131.jpg

heavy but smooth flowing traffic (had to be because i had no time to take a better picture) along the cte at 4.16pm on a friday.


http://files.photojerk.com/sybarite/IMGP5531.JPG

A quiet traffic junction near Redhill MRT......

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/ylstan03/Transport%20and%20Infrastructure/DSCN31571.jpg

Erm....did you just go to Redhill MRT area today?

Erm....did you just go to Redhill MRT area today?

Yah....I went there to collect my d-cam at nikon service centre........around that area........:yes:

The area around Redhill MRT do look different.......the old flats around it had been pull down.......there's a vacant piece of land beside the MRT station....I wonder what they'll do to it???

Yah....I went there to collect my d-cam at nikon service centre........around that area........:yes:

The area around Redhill MRT do look different.......the old flats around it had been pull down.......there's a vacant piece of land beside the MRT station....I wonder what they'll do to it???
What time were you there, because I was there too! :D

What time were you there, because I was there too! :D

You were there?? How come?? Going home after school??

I was there around 3.30pm........:yes:

CTE at Potong Pasir to Orchard always congested

Does anyone have pictures of the highways here? I'm also trying to find a picture that has a road sign above the highway. Ya know the ones that are located directly above the highways and they have arrows to show which lanes go where.

like this?
http://i138.exs.cx/img138/5416/sign8un.jpg

Owning and maintaining a car is very expensive in Singapore.

On the contrary, if you really need the four-wheeler transport to bring along your family and friends during weekends only or at night after work, it is economic $ense to get an Off-Peak car. You will get a rebate of SGD$17000 and annual road tax of SGD$50 only.

Let's say u still prefer to own your own private transport(s), but the Off-Peak car cannot be used during the restricted time (Mon-Fri 7am-7pm) to go to work, get a motorcycle too. Motorcycles are cheap to use and maintain and have no problem in traffic jams.

So, I find the best means of transport to go to work is by motorcycle. Then after work and on weekends, use an Off-peak car to go outing with family and friends.

One tip to save thousands of Sing$Dollars per annum to run your vehicle(s), pump your petrol in Johor Baru or Second-Link instead. Currently, 1-litre of petrol here cost SGD$1.60, but in Johor Baru it's only $0.62 (RM1.40). Just imagine the savings accumulated in 52 weeks.

riding a motorcycle is very dangerous!!!!

Traffic at Sheares Bridge near Rochor Exit (19/3/05):

http://img194.exs.cx/img194/4282/pic0154714vc.jpg

off peak traffic volume

http://files.photojerk.com/sybarite/IMGP4238.JPG

oh my..this pic is gorgeous! :eek2:

Traffic at Sheares Bridge near Rochor Exit (19/3/05):

http://img194.exs.cx/img194/4282/pic0154714vc.jpg

From where and how did you take this picture? :)

From where and how did you take this picture? :)

From the sheares bridge and using a 4 sec shutter speed.....:yes:

One tip to save thousands of Sing$Dollars per annum to run your vehicle(s), pump your petrol in Johor Baru or Second-Link instead. Currently, 1-litre of petrol here cost SGD$1.60, but in Johor Baru it's only $0.62 (RM1.40). Just imagine the savings accumulated in 52 weeks.

This is not allowed anymore right? Your tank must be at least 3/4 full or else they won't let you in.