WEEKEND CAR SCHEME

Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Communications how his Ministry intends to plug the loophole in the Weekend Car Scheme.

Mr Mah Bow Tan: The Weekend Car Scheme was introduced on 1st May 1991 to enable more Singaporeans to own cars without creating more congestion on the roads. The objective of the Scheme has largely been met. As at July 1994, 9,493 new cars have been registered as weekend cars (WECs). Of these, 93% are owned by owners who do not own another car, and 90% are small and medium sized cars below 1600 cc.

However, recently more big cars above 1600 cc are being registered as WECs. The number of such cars forms about 34% of WEC registrations this year compared with 6% last year. This trend can be attributed to the increasingly larger difference in COE premiums between WECs and big cars. As a result, owners of big WECs enjoy large savings which in some cases more than compensate them for the cost of day licences and allow them to use their cars like normal cars. This is not the intention of the WEC Scheme. If this trend is left unchecked, the WEC quota will be dominated by the big cars.

My Ministry is therefore reviewing the WEC Scheme to ensure that the objective of the WEC Scheme is preserved.