The Singapore Transportation

If you visit Singapore, don't forget to travel in their efficient public transport. Among the many countries I've visited, I haven't come across the transportation as world class as Singapore. Their buses run at a peak of every few minutes in the morning and afternoon. In some countries you have to wait for a good half or one hour just for one.

There are many bus services that ply the Singapore roads. You can find a bus stop in every 400 metres away! Some buses ply similar or overlaps the routes of the trains that runs on ther rails above or under tunnel. I enjoy taking buses because you can enjoy the sights especially when you are seated on the upper deck of the double decker. Singapore is a green city, full of trees along the way. So it gives me a relaxing ride and sometimes I love to have a good book or listen to my favourite songs. There are TVs in the buses so if you are sitting in view of it, you can catch some local dramas on it too. Travelling is convenient. Fares are paid by dropping coins in a box next to the driver (actual amount) or you can tap your EZ link card on a scanner as you board. Tap as you alight too, it will auto deduct the actually amount from your stored value EZ link card.

Car Parks in Singapore

There are many high rise buildings in Singapore. Properties are expensive though it is not as expensive as cities around the world like Sydney, Hong Kong and London. This is usually a sign of expensive land prices that are saturated in an area.

In Singapore, car parks do not come free as in many places in Malaysia and Indonesia. Although many Singaporeans live in subsidized housing or government flats, they have to pay for their own car parks too. Some friends of mine got a shock learning this as they thought that as long as you bought an apartment or flat, carpark is either built in as a one time payment and the rest of the months are free. Perhaps so in Singapore private estates of apartments, condominium and the like. But in the local heartlands where the Singaporeans reside in a government flat, they too have to pay for their own car park, either monthly, quarterly or a longer term they choose. Not paying for season car parks may result in getting your car booked. There are officials who come with an electronic PDA-looking device that can scan your car label to see if your season parking is up to date.

A typical car park lot by the month for a flat cost anything from $55 or $65 for multistorey carparks. Even though many Singaporeans may rant about paying for many things, deep in their heart, they make up a large or majority percentage of citizens who trust their government to play the important role of much of the efficiency and developed Singapore.

Look at a typical car park in a housing estate of Singapore living.

Diligent Singapore Drivers

Watch out for speed camera in Singapore

Have you ever travelled on the Singapore roads? Their roads are very clean. The environment is very green too. You can see the trees lining up in rows, with equal space and nothing goes out of place. It is not very difficult to drive in Singapore. Compared with most other countries, the people of Singapore drive according to their lanes. Switching lanes are also indicated most of the time. And when the cabs and cars are going to stop over, they flash their hazard lights at least in 9 out of 10 drivers. So what makes Singapore driving different from the neighbouring countries? Not very much, except that in order to own a car, one need to purchase the COE in advance. COE means Certificate of Entitlement, literally speaking. You need to bid (through a car agent or openly by yourself) like a market share. If your bid is successful (limited quota per month is given for owning of cars/release of COE), you are on your way to an approval which means you can now purchase your preferred car (based on the car size you bid).

Singapore tries to spread their drivers to all over Singapore, thus implementing gantry for Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) in Central Business Districts and also roads that are deemed to be congested during peak hours. Buses also get a special lane so that other traffic do not block the way and cause delays in their efficient traffic systems.

Speed limit is very controlled in Singapore. Highways are controlled to about 70kph to a maximum of 90kph. Nothing more than than or you'll be caught by the speeding trap located at certain points. Car drivers also pay their parking fines, speeding fines diligently. Cars more than 3 or 4 years have to be checked periodically and produced a certificate of assessment to make sure their car is approved for driving. Without this certificate of assessment, one cannot renew their road tax at all.

Happy Driving, in Singapore!