Singapore to impose 0% growth limit on car registrations as of February 1
Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) has announced that it will cut the annual growth rate for cars from 0.25% to zero beginning today.
An LTA statement cites “land constraints” and a desire to improve public transportation as the primary reasons for the change. With a total land area of just 278 square miles, the island city-state is home to about 612,000 cars, a significant contributor to the congestion of city roads.
The new LTA regulation will implement a zero-sum management of future car sales. In other words, for Singaporeans to get a new car on the road, they will need to de-register an old one. A ten-year, LTA-issued Certificate of Entitlement is required for all purchases of new automobiles.
Urban planning analysts recognise that in many densely populated Asian cities driving to one’s destination can be challenging, if not impossible, especially during rush hours. Singapore experienced a 3% increase in extra travel time via car between 2017 and 2018, now reaching a total of 34% extra travel time required in situations of traffic congestion. Expect the new regulation to inspire other densely populated Asian urban areas struggling with transportation immobility to consider adopting a similar regulation.
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