Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Categorising All Vehicles Transporting Passengers or Goods for Monetary Gain as Commercial Vehicles under COE Category C

Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry will consider categorising all vehicles that transport passengers or goods for monetary gain as commercial vehicles under COE Category C.

Reply by Acting Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat:

1.     The Certificate of Entitlement system is designed to allocate vehicles to different quota categories according to the vehicle types, and not the intended purpose of use. Cars are in Categories A and B, while motorcycles are in Category D. Goods vehicles and buses are in Category C.

2.     Categorising vehicles based on their purposes would result in significant rigidity for vehicle owners and would also be challenging to enforce. The current approach of categorisation by vehicle type allows owners to optimise the use of their vehicles based on their needs. For example, a car or motorcycle can be used to transport goods both for personal and commercial purposes.