Singapore demands a $67,000 "permit" fee to purchase an auto!

[jagec]

well thats not gonna lead to a black market or anything

Not super easy to get away with in Singapore. You're not allowed to use or keep any foreign-registered cars in the city if you're a citizen or permanent resident, and to drive around the city you have to have this electronic box (tied to your vehicle) to pay tolls and parking.

Not only is it difficult, I'm sure the penalties are NOT worth it.

 

[Jadow]

Wow.
>7200 people per square kilometer in Singapore.
Washington DC: >3800
New Jersey: 459

my county has 14 people per km^2 woot! who's lower

 

[bigrash]

Damn I never knew there was such a high tax for cars in Asia.

 

[SSSnail]

And check this out, after shelling out all that money, you can only keep your car for 10 years.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I'd probably just add a 12vdc motor to a pedal bike, a marine battery and call it a day. Screw the system. Would kinda suck in winter though, but I'm sure BMX style tires could do well in the snow.

Though what's really going to happen is lot of people will be quitting their jobs since they can't afford a car to get to it. There will be lot of unemployed people and lot of small businesses struggling to get by because people can't afford a vehicle to get there to give them business. Their whole economy will be shot. If this is for the environment, you can't just outright take it away, you need to replace it with something. Perhaps they should offer tax breaks on electric cars or something.

 

[ElFenix]

singapore would be a good place to retire, methinks.

 

[jagec]

I'd probably just add a 12vdc motor to a pedal bike, a marine battery and call it a day. Screw the system. Would kinda suck in winter though, but I'm sure BMX style tires could do well in the snow.

Though what's really going to happen is lot of people will be quitting their jobs since they can't afford a car to get to it. There will be lot of unemployed people and lot of small businesses struggling to get by because people can't afford a vehicle to get there to give them business. Their whole economy will be shot. If this is for the environment, you can't just outright take it away, you need to replace it with something. Perhaps they should offer tax breaks on electric cars or something.

Snow? "A lot of people will be quitting their jobs"? Environmental reasons?

Do you know ANYTHING about the topic that we're discussing?

 

[SSSnail]

singapore would be a good place to retire, methinks.

Only if you have millions.

 

[foghorn67]

Heh, if you live in a shithole, you're probably more dependent on cars (for reference, i used to live in Boston and now i live near NYC).

I like accessing the outdoors and not being surrounded by buildings.
Typical love for the dystopia from a daylight fearing weirdo like yourself.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Snow? "A lot of people will be quitting their jobs"? Environmental reasons?

Do you know ANYTHING about the topic that we're discussing?

They're making it next to impossible to buy a car in Singapore. I'm taking a guess that it could be some green incentive thing, but it's just a guess. It does not really mention why, they just say they're doing it. Either way, it's a really stupid way to go about it. If you can't have a car, then you can't get to your job, thus have to quit it. It's not rocket science. There's always public transportation, but that's only a good option if they have a good system there.

 

[SSSnail]

They're making it next to impossible to buy a car in Singapore. I'm taking a guess that it could be some green incentive thing, but it's just a guess. It does not really mention why, they just say they're doing it. Either way, it's a really stupid way to go about it. If you can't have a car, then you can't get to your job, thus have to quit it. It's not rocket science. There's always public transportation, but that's only a good option if they have a good system there.

It has nothing to do with green but congestion. And, you don't need a car if you live in SG, ever. You can go anywhere in the country for less than a US dollar on the most efficient subway and public transportation system - in the world!

 

[jagec]

They're making it next to impossible to buy a car in Singapore. I'm taking a guess that it could be some green incentive thing, but it's just a guess. It does not really mention why, they just say they're doing it. Either way, it's a really stupid way to go about it. If you can't have a car, then you can't get to your job, thus have to quit it. It's not rocket science.

This is not a new policy, it has been in place for decades. It is in place because Singapore has very little land, is highly urbanized, has lots of congestion, excellent mass transit, and lots of very very rich people. Oh, and no snow...ever!

Considering that unemployment in Singapore is under 2%, they are a MAJOR port city and financial center, and they have the 4th-highest GDP per capita of any nation in the world, I don't think that their economy has suffered much. And did I mention the excellent mass transit?

No, it's not rocket science, it's just an example of a policy that would be madness in many countries but works quite well under certain specific conditions.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Ahh so they have decent mass transit? Then that changes things. I'd probably voluntarily give up having a car if there was better transit here. But buses here that pass every half hour to every hour, kinda suck especially when you get a tour of half the city before making it to the terminal. It's fine if you're not in a hurry to get where you want to go, but would not be sufficient for work.

 

[OutHouse]

Ever heard of walking, cycling, and using public transportation?

Totally impractical for millions in the US. Stop making such idiotic retarded ignorant statements.

 

[randomrogue]

Singapore needs less cars. The cost though is insignificant to the population there.

The public transport was perfectly adequate (if not a bit too aggressive with the AC). They could easily have no cars there other than those needed for transporting business goods and services.

 

[randomrogue]

Totally impractical f or millions on the US. Stop making such idiotic retarded ignorant statements.

It's impractical because we don't invest into it and the lines are built by monkeys.

I lived in San Diego and they had two trolley lines. One went north-south and the other east-west. Neither went to the beach. In San Diego. I don't think any of them went to the 3 universities there either. Or the zoo. Or the wild animal park.

Well built mass transit is amazing though. It's a godsend.

 

[andylawcc]

It's impractical because we don't invest into it and the lines are built by monkeys.

I lived in San Diego and they had two trolley lines. One went north-south and the other east-west. Neither went to the beach. In San Diego. I don't think any of them went to the 3 universities there either. Or the zoo. Or the wild animal park.

Well built mass transit is amazing though. It's a godsend.

werd. in LA our awesome Metro rail does not go all the way to the airport. no, you have to connect with another bus first.

yes, well built mass transit is a godsend, but state will have much less income from drunk drivers. /just sayin

glad this thread has turned political.

 

[mmntech]

Totally impractical for millions in the US. Stop making such idiotic retarded ignorant statements.

Haha, yep. Google says it would take me 4.5hrs to walk to work, 1hr 20min to bike, or 1hr 44min to take the bus. It takes me 20-30min to drive depending on the traffic. Any money I'd save moving closer to work would get eaten up by the higher housing costs and then some. I just don't make enough money for it to be a viable option. When you live in a densely populated country the size of New York, it's easy. Not so much in most other places. A lot of lower and middle class people are getting priced out of the city, so they can't afford to live near their jobs. Having access to transit is moot when it doesn't reach the majority of people. You can't get rid of cars because there are no alternatives. Not unless we completely redesign the way we build cities and agree to substantially lower real estate prices to make them affordable. I just can't see it happening, with the latter being the bigger roadblock.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Idealy what needs to happen is it needs to be standard procedure to be able to just work from home. Most jobs could easily be done from home it's just that employers don't want to. Usually due to cost/technical reasons or even union/liability BS.

Obviously hands on jobs you'd still have to show up to a specific location for a specific time, though, so it would only partially fix the congestion problem.

 

[OutHouse]

It's impractical because we don't invest into it and the lines are built by monkeys.

its impractical not because "we" (who ever we is) dont invent, its impractical because it is IMPRACTICAL and too fricken expensive! where do you think the money comes from to build shit like mass transit? china? oh wait..

 

[OutHouse]

Idealy what needs to happen is it needs to be standard procedure to be able to just work from home. Most jobs could easily be done from home it's just that employers don't want to. Usually due to cost/technical reasons or even union/liability BS.

Obviously hands on jobs you'd still have to show up to a specific location for a specific time, though, so it would only partially fix the congestion problem.

is it retard night? so you are saying the gubernmnt tells a business that they have to have X work from home? and no, most jobs can not be done from home.

 

[z0mb13]

Singapore public transport is amazing. Cars are purely optional (for the majority of people) because the subway system and bus system is so efficient.
By the way the tax on the cars fluctuate and depends on the demand and the amount of cars on the road (yes it is controlled until that level)

 

[thetechfreak]

Whatever the Singaporean government is doing the transport system there is just AMAZING. Metro all the way to the airport is a WIN.
It's easy to go just about any place there with a metro-bus combo.

 

[Red Squirrel]

is it retard night? so you are saying the gubernmnt tells a business that they have to have X work from home? and no, most jobs can not be done from home.

It's a fairly new technology if you've been living under a rock, but there is something called VPN (check here for more info) which would allow it. Get rid of any political barriers, and it's very possible to do nearly any sit down at a computer job, at home. Heck, with this VPN technology, and another technology called VOIP (Voice over IP) you could even have a phone extension that works at home. There would not really be all that much cost's to the company as the things required would need to be given if the employee was on site anyway. In fact they'd save by not needing so many cubicles. Face to face meetings could be done every now and then too as sometimes it's just easier to talk to people that are all in one room. But by not needing to drive somewhere every single day it would greatly reduce traffic.

 

[ichy]

well thats not gonna lead to a black market or anything

Ha, do you have any idea what the penalties for breaking any sort of law in Singapore are? Buying a black market car probably gets you caned.