After a long week roughing it out on public transport, lawyer Benjamin Gaw looks forward to the weekend when he and his wife can spend some quality time with their 11/2-year-old baby - a Renault Megane.

They ensure they get the most out of the silver-grey car, driving to church, to lunch with friends and dinner with family - packing in up to six destinations a day.

They plan the weekend well in advance, because their Renault sports the tell-tale white-on-red licence plates of an off-peak car.

This means they can use it only at certain times - from 7pm to 7am on weekdays, after 3pm on Saturdays and all day on Sundays.

Yesterday, the Gaws set off from their church in Upper Paya Lebar Road at about 3pm to do a spot of shopping at Suntec City, before zipping to Funan DigitaLife Mall to pick up computer accessories.

They ended the day with dinner at Farrer Road, where Mr Gaw's in-laws live. Sunday dinners are typically spent there or at his parents' place in Yishun. Saturdays are no less busy.

The Gaws' schedule from 3pm is packed, and includes church meetings and youth group activities such as camps and barbecues.

Although Mr Gaw, 30, said he does not like driving much, he and his wife have taken the car to Kuala Lumpur and Bukit Tinggi, near Genting Highlands.

They are among an increasing number of people here choosing to buy off-peak cars, driving up the number on the road to around 25,000 currently - more than three times the figure just a decade ago.

The Gaws said opting for an off-peak car was a no-brainer - for them, at least.

Mrs Melissa Gaw, 29, a civil servant, said: "Even with our old 'normal-use' car, we never drove to work. Given our weekend schedule, we chose an off-peak car as that's when we use it the most."

They paid $56,000 for the Renault - instead of $73,000 for one with 'normal-use' plates.

In addition, they get an $800 discount on road tax annually.

Driving to work would have had them notching up parking charges of $30 to $40 a day, or $300 for monthly season parking, not to mention the cost of petrol, and Electronic Road Pricing charges at two gantries.

In contrast, getting to their central business district offices on public transport - a 15-minute bus and train ride from their five-room Tiong Bahru flat - costs them about $50 each a month.

All this makes the couple, who have been married for about three years and have no children, happy that they decided on an off-peak car.

"We considered using taxis to get around on our busy Sundays, but you cannot always get a cab when you need one," said Mrs Gaw. The Gaws do have one wish, however.

Said Mr Gaw: "Now with the five-day week, traffic on Saturday is not heavy. If we were allowed to use the car for the whole weekend, it would be good, as we could do our marketing on Saturdays."