Singapore's strategy of minimising cars on the road

 

We all are aware of Singapore, a great nation with good financial conditions and a lot of tourist spots. But today, we are not going to talk about this topic, and rather we are going to discuss Singapore's strategy of minimizing cars on the road.

The reason behind that initiative - 

The initiative of the government to decrease the number of cars in the street is basically driven by the need to address the challenges of limited land and a growing population. The problem doesn't end there only. Another big problem is the climate change crisis. Cars can cause a lot of pollution, leading to severe effects on our climate. With a limited amount of space available in the country, the government has implemented policies to encourage the use of public transportation and discourage the use of private cars.

What are the main strategies? 

The government of Singapore is concerned about the problem of the growing number of cars, and they have come up with some strict laws to solve this problem. 

One of the key strategies is the implementation of a road pricing scheme called Electronic Road Pricing (ERP), which charges drivers for using roads that are prone to congestion at peak hours. The ERP aims to reduce traffic congestion and encourage the use of alternative modes of transportation. The system was first implemented as Area Licensing System in 1975, but it is now, with the arrival of technology, the system has become more efficient. 

In addition, the Singapore government has also implemented policies to limit the number of cars on the road through a quota system. Now the number of new vehicles that can be registered in Singapore every year is limited by a set quota, and the quota limit is determined by the government based on different factors like the capacity of roads and different environmental impacts. 

Another measure that is taken by the government includes high tax rates on cars, which make car ownership more expensive, and the development of an efficient and reliable public transportation system that includes buses, trains, and taxis.

Singapore has shown some great improvements in this sector. The country has managed to bring down the congestion of the roads by making people use public transport over private cars. The ERP system is given the credit of lowering congestion in the country by an additional 15% and increasing the percentage of commuters who utilise public transit from 45% to 65%.  The city also made a remarkable reduction in carbon emissions, which is one of the biggest reasons behind climate change. The country earned almost USD 50 million annually.

This level of strong rules is smoothly implemented in Singapore because they are used to strict control. As the media is also closely monitored, and severe punishments for any kind of minor crimes. 

The motive of the government behind so tough is to make the city more sustainable and gift a healthy life to the citizens with the promotion of public transport in place of private cars. 

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