COE QUOTA FOR MOTORCYCLES

COE QUOTA FOR MOTORCYCLES

6.

Mr Teo Siong Seng asked the Minister for Transport whether his Ministry will maintain a sufficient COE quota for motorcycles to keep its COE prices stable and affordable for the benefit of the low-income group who may need motorcycles to earn a living and cannot afford public transport costs.

Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat: The purpose of the Vehicle Quota System (VQS) is to manage the growth of the vehicle population in Singapore so that our roads remain free flowing. The number of COEs available is calculated based on the number of vehicles de-registered in the preceding six months, the allowable growth in vehicle population and any adjustments arising from cancelled or expired COEs. This formula applies to all vehicle types, including motorcycles.

Column: 1007

Our general approach is not to intervene and manage the price of COEs as doing so would undermine the larger transport objective of controlling the vehicle population growth rate. The pricing of motorcycle COEs would therefore be left to overall supply and demand dynamics, no different from other COE categories.

Nevertheless, for social equity reasons, motorcycles have already been allocated a separate COE category so that motorcycle buyers need not compete with car buyers for COEs. In addition, motorcycles attract a much lower Additional Registration Fee (ARF) rate of 15% of the Open Market Value (OMV), as compared to 100% of OMV for cars.

We are also glad to inform Mr Teo that, contrary to his expectation, public transport is actually cheaper on average than owning a motorcycle.

Column: 1007