According to the statistics provided by the Land Transport Authority, 2016 hit the lowest number of off peak cars since 2006 in Singapore. In 2010, it rose to a high of 50,040 when the scheme’s rules were eased. Over the years, their presence in the roads has diminished. Last year, there were 22,562 off peak cars on the road, which is the lowest after 11 years. There were 30,469 off peak cars in 2015 and 38,146 in 2014, in comparison.
Scheme Losing Popularity
In 1994, off peak cars were introduced for people with low income, to get a chance to own a car without adding to peak hour traffic congestion. Among other restrictions, these cars cannot be driven from 7am to 7pm on weekdays.
Registering in off peak scheme gets a rebate of upto 17,000 dollars, which can be used to offset the cost of a Certificate of Entitlement (COE) and registration fees when buying a new car. There is a discount of 500 dollars on annual road tax.
Ms Khadijah bought an off peak car in 2005 when the premium was less than 15,000 dollars. In 2015, when the COE expired, she said good bye to it. She said that getting a taxi or a cab is cheaper nowadays, according to her calculations.
Experts on Off peak Scheme
Dr Park Byung Joon, a Transport analyst said the rise could be the reduction in price of COE over the last two years. Experts have said that there is little incentive to make changes to the scheme.
