Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Rise in COE Prices and Need for Affordable Transport Solutions

Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Transport in light of the significant increase in car registrations for car-sharing or self-driving services 

a.     whether this has contributed to the increasing prices of Certificates of Entitlement; 

b.     how does this affect road usage; 

c.     whether the Government will keep car ownership and transport affordable for the people who need it; and 

d.     whether there are plans to develop the car-sharing industry as a solution for large families or those with mobility problems to get around.

Reply by Minister for Transport S Iswaran:

1.     In land-scarce Singapore, we manage the overall vehicle population by controlling the number of Certificates of Entitlements (COEs). On the whole, demand for vehicles has remained resilient, while the supply of COEs has decreased due to a lower number of vehicle deregistrations. As a result, COE prices have been increasing.

2.     Car-sharing companies help to complement the current transport offerings of public transport and point-to-point services, by providing users with a time-limited access to private vehicles. Car-sharing reduces the need for households and users to own a car outright. These cars also serve more households and users over time, compared to privately-owned cars. Hence, we would expect their overall road usage to be higher, which is addressed through congestion pricing through our Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system.

3.     There are now approximately 4,600 shared cars. There is no evidence that car-sharing companies and services are driving up COE prices.