Thank you PAP for giving Singaporeans more chances to own cars

ERP helps more S'poreans to own cars: Minister THE use of Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) has made it possible for more Singaporeans to own cars. Responding to a question for written reply in Parliament on Monday, Transport Minister Raymond Lim said this is reflected in the growth of Singapore's car population from 680,000 in 1997 to 800,000 in 2006. Dr Fatimah Lateef, MP for Marine Parade GRC, had asked the Minister if the ERP scheme has met the objectives that it was meant to achieve and if it has improved the traffic flow on expressways especially during peak hours. In his reply, Mr Lim said since its implementation in 1998, ERP has been effective in maintaining average travel speeds on priced roads within the optimal speed range through regular reviews and rate adjustments. For example, average speeds on the expressways have remained at above 45km/h during peak hours. "The use of ERP to manage traffic has made it possible for more Singaporeans to own cars than we otherwise could, and our vehicle population has grown from 680,000 in 1997 to 800,000 in 2006," he added. "It has also allowed the Government to rely more on car usage charges and less on car ownership taxes to manage traffic demand, and as a result, vehicle ownership taxes have been reduced." The Ministers said the government will continue with a holistic and integrated approach using all the tools available to keep the roads smooth-flowing. These include building more roads, regulating vehicle growth, implementing traffic engineering solutions, managing traffic demand through ERP and promoting the use of public transport We should be thankful to our million dollar ministers for allowing us to own more cars. It is to their credit that we are now able to drive to work instead of taking the public transport. I just realised that only Singaporeans buy cars as "The use of ERP to manage traffic has made it possible for more Singaporeans to own cars than we otherwise could, and our vehicle population has grown from 680,000 in 1997 to 800,000 in 2006," he added." This means that the vehicle population is directly attributed to Singaporeans. But as we all know, Singaporeans is such an all inclusive term nowadays that anyone can call themselves Singaporeans. This is necessary as we seek to benefit from "Globalisation" and reap the "economic benefits" from it ERP is such an effective system that they should have implemented it long ago. They charge you a fee for using the expressway so that it won't be congested and we can have "average speeds on the expressways have remained at above 45km/h during peak hours." For use of the term "express" in transportation today, we have to pay a premium because it is necessary. Like the Express buses that SBS provides us, we should pay a premium because it brings us to areas that no other buses are able to bring us there in that amount of time even though it uses roughly the same routes as other buses. Then when they find that peasants get used to the thought of paying a few dollars to use the expressway, they increase review the fees so that they realized they are peasants and should not be using the expressway they can manage the traffic flow of the expressway better. If you are wondering what the link between ERP and vehicle ownership, the link is that instead of charging you a lump sum fee for buying a vehicle, you get to pay a lower lump sum and be charge small amounts each time you use your vehicle. This makes it more affordable for you to own a vehicle.