LTA’s new role fuels talk of emission-based tax [News]

By Christopher Tan, The Straits Times, 6 Dec 2011.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will take over the fuel efficiency labelling of cars from the National Environment Agency (NEA) next year – a move that industry players say could pave the way for an emission-based vehicle tax system in the longer term.

Such a taxation system uses the amount of tailpipe emissions to determine how much a motorist pays in road tax or even excise duty, and has been adopted by several countries in recent years.

Asked if this was the eventual plan, an LTA spokesman would say only: ‘As announced by the Minister for Finance at Budget 2011, the Government is undertaking a comprehensive review on measures to promote the adoption of green vehicles, as part of our efforts to promote sustainable development.’ Read more

CNG car owners may be allowed to ditch gas for petrol [News]

By Christopher Tan, The Straits Times, 4 Oct 2011.

MOTORISTS now disenchanted with their compressed natural gas (CNG) cars may be allowed to dismantle the CNG kit to revert to petrol-only rides.

If they do this, however, they will have to pay back the tax rebate they enjoyed when they bought the car.

The amount to be paid back could be pegged to the number of years remaining in the 10-year lifespan of the car; an administrative fee may also be levied.

The news came as the Government announced yesterday that the rebate scheme for CNG cars will be extended by another year until the end of next year.

The rebate, at 40 per cent of the car’s additional registration fee, comes to $6,000 to $8,000 for a compact Japanese car. Read more

Vehicle growth rate to be cut [News]

By Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia, 3 Oct 2011.

Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew has said that Singapore’s annual vehicle growth cap would be cut further from next year.

Mr Lui did not say how much lower it will go. The quantum, he said, would be announced in October.

Mr Lui said this in an interview with the local media ahead of the opening of the new Parliament sitting next week.

The annual allowable vehicle growth rate now stands at 1.5 per cent.

One way Singapore manages its vehicle growth population is through the vehicle quota system.

Under it, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) determines the number of new vehicles allowed on the roads. Read more

Launch Of Singapore’s Electric Vehicle Test-Bed [Press Releases]

25 Jun 2011 – The inter-agency Electric Vehicle (EV) Taskforce, led by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA), announced the launch of the electric vehicle test-bed in Singapore today. The objective of the EV test-bed is to test and gauge different EV prototypes and charging technologies given Singapore’s urbanised environment and road conditions, before deciding whether to roll it out for mass adoption.

Key features of EV test-bed

2 For a start, the EV test-bed will be launched with:

• Three outdoor and two indoor charging stations;
• First batch of five Mitsubishi i-MiEVs;
• Four smart electric drive (ed) Daimler vehicles;
• First batch of participants comprising LTA, Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Mitsubishi Corporation and Senoko Energy [1].

3 The test-bed will focus on gathering data and insights to guide the planning for future deployment of EVs, including the optimal ratio of charging stations to vehicles. For the convenience of the test-bed participants, charging stations have been designed to automatically collect data on the EV users’ charging patterns. To provide an adequate period for data collection, the test-bed will be extended by one year until end of 2013. (Please see Annex for location of EV charging stations). Read more

LED street lights still on trial [News]

25 May 2011 – The question for the Land Transport Authority (LTA) is whether it is ‘street-smart’ to switch to LEDs for street lighting here.

A spokesman said it is currently conducting a trial to study the ‘different aspects of using LED technology such as energy consumption, durability and maintenance challenges’.

LED lights – sponsored by electronics groups Philips and Samsung – were installed on 17 existing lamp posts in Northumberland Road and Tekka Lane in Little India last year .

‘We expect the trial to take another three years to complete before we can make an accurate assessment,’ the spokesman said.

Although cities elsewhere have plugged into this energy-efficient technology, The Straits Times understands that LTA’s engineers are unsure of the long-term benefits.

For instance, though LED lamps use less electricity, more lamps may be needed to match the quality of lighting achieved by the high-pressured sodium vapour lamps in use today. Read more

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