I REFER to last Friday's letter by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), 'Off-peak car, vehicle entry permit schemes have different objectives'.
In the third paragraph, the LTA wrote: 'The off-peak car scheme offers Singapore motorists an option to own a car at lower costs if they are prepared to use the cars sparingly.' If the objective of the off-peak car scheme is to encourage motorists to use their car sparingly, the LTA should also issue a half-day licence, at half the price of the whole-day licence, like the HDB or URA parking coupon scheme.
Road tax has come down many times and many ERP gantries have gone up since the $20 whole-day off-peak car licence was introduced. No change has been made to the off-peak car licence since then.
The half-day off-peak car licence will encourage more people to convert to off-peak cars. This is because car owners who work in the city can leave their off-peak car at home, so family members can use it to run errands around the neighbourhood. Paying $10 for a half-day off-peak car licence to use the car for less than a few hours is practical and reasonable, compared to paying $20 to use it for such a short time. Also, grandparents can use the car to take their grandchildren on weekday outings. This will improve their quality of life.
If only a whole-day licence is available, it will encourage off-peak car users to use the car all day, even if they do not need it more than a few hours. It is only natural if they have paid for whole-day use.
I remember reading about six months ago that the LTA said it would consider a half-day off-peak car licence. But since then, no announcement has been made. I hope the LTA will introduce the half-day off-peak car licence soon, as it will help achieve the objectives of the off-peak car scheme.
Yan Fook Wei
This article was first published in The Straits Times on Dec 16, 2008.
