[Thilak29]

Cars congesting roads is a problem in just about every major urban center around the world, but some areas are worst in this regard than others. Singapore is one of those, and it’s going to do something about it – the government there has announced that it will cut the annual growth rate of cars and motorcycles allowed on roads in the country from 0.25 percent to zero starting next February.

This new cap doesn’t apply to transport vehicles for goods and buses, which will continue to be able to grow at 0.25 percent per year through at least 2021. It’ll also revisit the cap for all vehicles in 2025.

Singapore isn’t alone in facing the challenge of there just being too many cars on the road, and too many demands on infrastructure as a result. But it is a particularly poignant example of what happens when that reaches a crisis point, and a good sample case to look to to see why there’s such a focus on mobility services and alternative transportation services particularly for dense urban environments

The government wants to get more people out of their cars and onto public transit. It plans to spend 28 billion Singapore dollars ($21 billion) on building and upgrading rail and bus networks over the next five years. While the city's rapid transit system is mostly modern and efficient, it has drawn criticism in recent years following a series of high-profile breakdowns.

Bangalore, getting any idea ?

Source : https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...overnment-says

Mods, Please merge if there is any relevant thread exists

[SajiNSalin]

If the public transport in a city is decent and the stations are reasonably close, it makes a lot of sense to avoid car use. Delhi airport to Connaught place is a comfortable half an hour ride on the airport metro, compared to a several hours by car. Cities like Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, etc. are choked with vehicles and there is no good solution in sight. Probably the govt should invest heavily in public transport.

[srishiva]

If one considers the money being spent on repairing roads every year, there is nothing preventing our cities in implementing some grand public transport plan.
I have never seen a govt saying they dont have enough funds for repairing roads. It happens immediately. I also think that the Central govt should try and invest heavily in infrastructure projects. If you take Bengaluru, other than investing a part of Metro and highways being tolled, there is not much investment.

[AltoLXI]

Originally Posted by srishiva

If one considers the money being spent on repairing roads every year, there is nothing preventing our cities in implementing some grand public transport plan.
I have never seen a govt saying they dont have enough funds for repairing roads. It happens immediately. I also think that the Central govt should try and invest heavily in infrastructure projects. If you take Bengaluru, other than investing a part of Metro and highways being tolled, there is not much investment.

We have enough funds for "study tours" to know how Singapore manages its garbage/potholes/public transport. Read about it here and here

Very soon Bengaluru will also resemble Singapore. Hundreds of pourakarmikas are on "study tour" and once back will transform Bengaluru which will put Singapore to shame.

[blackwasp]

Singapore has announced that no further cars will be added on its streets. The growth rate for motorcycles and cars will be reduced to 0% from the current 0.25%.

The city state has said that this restriction will be applicable from February 2018. Meanwhile, the growth rate for the buses and goods vehicles will still be at 0.25% till March 2021. This additional time has been given to the business owners to revamp and increase the efficiency of their existing fleet. Further, the limit on the growth rate will be reviewed again 2020.

The land space in Singapore is very scarce and leads to very high property rates. Currently, roads occupy 12% of the available land. Alarmed by this, the authorities considered this limit. They will also be spending US$ 21 billion over the next five years to improve the public transport network - mostly towards the bus and rail transportation.

Currently, vehicle owners must hold a "Certificate of Entitlement" which is auctioned by the government every month. This certificate costs about US$ 30,000 and is valid for a 10-year period. As of 2016, there were over 6 lakh cars in the city.



Source - Bloomberg

Link to Team-BHP News

[rshnvjy]

I've been living on and off in Singapore for the past 10 years so I'd like to weigh in on why this is important and why such a step is not really drastic within the context of this tiny nation.

Primarily, the road network, even though thoroughly updated, scientifically constructed and modern, is ultimately limited considering the small area of landmass. Every single morning is marred by traffic jams on the main expressways which are considered to be the arterial lifelines of commuters heading to and from work and mind you, I'm talking about crawling speeds on highways which are sometimes 6-lanes in each direction. This is despite the fact that the price of a humble Suzuki Swift is almost Rs. 40 lakhs in Indian equivalent money, apart from taxes and the certificate of entitlement that needs to be paid (and which is valid only for 10 years after which it needs to be renewed for a hefty sum, or the car scrapped).

Secondly, private car ownership is dwindling. New car-sharing and carpooling services such as the homegrown 'Grab' and of course, Uber have started dominating private car ownership. The services are much more convenient, and in the cases of many daily commutes, even cheaper than taking the usually excellent network of thoroughly modern and updated (Hyundai i40, Renault Latitude, Toyota Prius, Hyundai Ionic) cabs. And they've even partnered with the cab companies to provide adequate incentive by the way of promotions and membership reward points to encourage commuters to use the services. This is another nail in the coffin of private car ownership.

Finally, unlike every single city in India, the public transport system 'just works'. Every route is meticulously planned and deployed with least amount of service downtime (though recently, the strain is beginning to show on the ageing MRT train system). There are adequate train stations connecting every nook and cranny of the island with more lines and stations coming up every day. I'm still sometimes amazed by the fact that being a tiny country that it is, Singapore probably has as much underground infrastructure as it does above ground. The train system is complemented by a network of buses (modern Volvo, MAN, Mercedes-Benz which are all air-conditioned and mostly wheelchair accessible) which act as feeder lines and provide end-to-end transit options for everyone. The beauty and elegance of the system is that a single fare card can be used for all of these and the final fare is calculated on the basis of the total length of the journey, irrespective of the number of transfers a person took to get there. It's a bulletproof system and it works. You can get from anywhere to anywhere here and the fare would be less than S$2.10 or so, no matter the route you take (unless you end up going in the completely opposite direction, in which case it'll obviously be more).

I just thought I'd share this and I'm sorry if the post was too long.

[deehunk]

What a contrasting difference in the thoughts of two nations? Singapore is worried about the percentage of land occupied by roads, India thinks about percentage of land that can be encroached by new roads. Considering our population we do not have surplus land to accommodate new road projects.

[no1lives4ever]

Originally Posted by deehunk

What a contrasting difference in the thoughts of two nations? Singapore is worried about the percentage of land occupied by roads, India thinks about percentage of land that can be encroached by new roads. Considering our population we do not have surplus land to accommodate new road projects.

It is not as simple as it looks. As far as I know, Singapore has no domestic auto industry and they import all the vehicles and they are a small city state.

India is a very large country and automobile manufacturing is a major industry in our country.

Our priorities with respect to car ownership will hence be very different.

-- no1lives4ever

[AltoLXI]

Originally Posted by rshnvjy

Finally, unlike every single city in India, the public transport system 'just works'. Every route is meticulously planned and deployed with least amount of service downtime (though recently, the strain is beginning to show on the ageing MRT train system). There are adequate train stations connecting every nook and cranny of the island with more lines and stations coming up every day. I'm still sometimes amazed by the fact that being a tiny country that it is, Singapore probably has as much underground infrastructure as it does above ground. The train system is complemented by a network of buses (modern Volvo, MAN, Mercedes-Benz which are all air-conditioned and mostly wheelchair accessible) which act as feeder lines and provide end-to-end transit options for everyone. The beauty and elegance of the system is that a single fare card can be used for all of these and the final fare is calculated on the basis of the total length of the journey, irrespective of the number of transfers a person took to get there. It's a bulletproof system and it works. You can get from anywhere to anywhere here and the fare would be less than S$2.10 or so, no matter the route you take (unless you end up going in the completely opposite direction, in which case it'll obviously be more).

Cannot agree more on this.

I personally feel Singapore MRT is way better than NY subway in terms of infrastructure/planning though not on scale. It is amazing that a tiny country could build such an efficient multi level MRT with proper last mile connectivity.

[sgiitk]

One thing we forget is that Singapore has a superb public transport system, while we essentially have none. Thus a good alternative is available. Also, taxis in S'pore are reasonably cheap.

[SmartCat]

I guess there won't be Team-BHP-Singapore.com anytime soon. What a terrible place for car lovers.



We need to read up on Singapore's history. I wonder how this sliver of land managed to remain independent when it shares land border with Malaysia.

[throttlehead]

Originally Posted by smartcat

I guess there won't be Team-BHP-Singapore.com anytime soon. What a terrible place for car lovers.

Attachment 1689420

We need to read up on Singapore's history. I wonder how this sliver of land managed to remain independent when it shares land border with Malaysia.

Do read up, one of those (only?) countries which was forced into freedom by Malaysia (Malaysia didn't want them anymore!). I recommend reading up on Lee Kuan Yew's book called The Singapore Story. It is fascinating to say the least.

On the issue of public transport, I think it has one of the best MRT systems in the world, coupled with very a intelligent bus feeder system. In addition, taxi's are cheap by international standards. You really don't miss anything by not owning a vehicle (if you switch off the enthusiast mode)

[vb-saan]

As a few others have mentioned, these measures are very much possible here because of the efficient public transport system. And they are in the process of building more and more MRT lines, adding more buses, more and more dedicated bus lanes etc. And the system is so seamless that all you need is one stored value card (which is mostly your ATM/Credit/Debit card nowadays). All fares are computed by distance, irrespective of the mode of transport - bus or train, or a combination of both. To travel from point A to B, you can take a direct bus, or do something like a Bus-MRT combination, the change over between a specific duration (say 30 mins) are considered as transfers and system takes in the fare accordingly.

And there could be another reason for this move. A lot (including me) are using Uber and Grab for their commute now; every 2nd car on the road has the private hire sticker on the windshield. With all the ongoing offers many times taking an Uber works out cheaper and faster than taking the bus or train. Though convenient, this has lead to more and more traffic delays.

What works in Singapore probably quite unique because it’s small and easy to manage. To implement these measures even in Tier 1 city in India will be next impossible.

As the saying goes “A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It's where the rich use public transportation.”

[SajiNSalin]

If Singapore residents want to drive, they can go to Malaysia and rent a car and drive all they want. The roads in Malaysia are wonderful and they have very scenic places to visit. So, they can utilise the public transport while in Singapore and do all the driving they want in Malaysia.

[Passiautonate]

Originally Posted by SajiNSalin

If Singapore residents want to drive, they can go to Malaysia and rent a car and drive all they want. The roads in Malaysia are wonderful and they have very scenic places to visit. So, they can utilise the public transport while in Singapore and do all the driving they want in Malaysia.

Well essentially the question is about how to learn driving and subsequently need to get a driving license? I would be pretty hesitant to take a vehicle in foreign country if I do not posses sufficient miles behind my back.