Annual vehicle growth rate to be lowered from February 2015: LTA

The annual vehicle growth rate will be lowered from the current 0.5 to 0.25 per cent, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in a release on Thursday. The rate will be reviewed again in 2017.

“With 12 per cent of Singapore’s total land area already taken up by roads, there is limited scope for any further expansion of the road network. Priority for road growth will be given to serve new development areas and to facilitate bus movements to bring about a better public transport experience,” said LTA.

LTA added that it is not sustainable to maintain the same rate of vehicle grow as there are close to a million vehicles on Singapore’s roads.

The lower vehicle growth rate will not “substantially impact” COE supply due to the rising trend of vehicle deregistrations in the coming years as COEs of old vehicles expire.

Between November and January 2015, the COE quota will be 11,932. This is up from 11,331 in the previous quarter, or 200 more COEs per month compared to the supply between August and October. Bidding under this quota will begin in November’s first bidding exercise.