Bike Sharing, ride sharing and carpooling services will benefit from no growth in cars in Singapore

Singapore will lower the vehicle growth rate from the current 0.25% per annum to 0% with effect from February 2018 for COE Categories A, B and D. The existing vehicle growth rate of 0.25% per annum for Category C will remain unchanged until 1Q2021, to provide businesses more time to improve the efficiency of their logistics operations and reduce the number of commercial vehicles that they require.

According to LTA, there were 898,239 vehicles on Singapore’s roads at the end of 2016, with 601,218 of those being private cars.

Above – GrabShuttle allows users to book a seat on shuttles following fixed routes. Photo credit: Grab.

Today, 12 percent of Singapore’s total land area is taken up by roads. In view of land constraints and competing needs, there is limited scope for further expansion of the road network.

Singapore also wants to be a “smart nation,” one driven by constant inflows of data, efficient processes, and quantifiable metrics. By limiting the number of cars on its roads, it can push for more efficient public transportation networks, more sustainable energy consumption, and reduced pollution.

LTA created new bike parking zones outside several stations on the island for this exact purpose. Bike-sharing provider oBike also announced it would notify users of such zones through geofencing.

The sharing concept extends to carpooling – a pre-existing concept given new life through mobile apps. Singapore startup Ryde made this its core concept, while also adding cab booking features through a partnership with local taxi operator Comfort DelGro in May.

Uber and Grab offer their own carpooling options by allowing a driver to pick up multiple passengers. Grab also offers GrabHitch, a peer-to-peer carpooling option that’s closer to Ryde’s concept.