Curb global warming, make car owners sweat

Ong Soh Chin, Straits Times 10 Jan 10;

At the recent Copenhagen climate summit, Singapore pledged to do its part to reduce carbon emissions growth by 16 per cent below business as usual (BAU) by 2020, provided that there is a global agreement. The Government has also pledged to maintain carbon emissions growth at 3.6 per cent until 2020.

To achieve these aims, the Government has plans in place, not least of which is its fine-tuning of transport policies. In fact, it wants to see 70 per cent of the population take public transport by 2020, up from the 59 per cent recorded in 2006. This will be done, it says, by improving the public transport system and imposing further restraints on vehicle population and usage.

How it does so remains to be seen. If 'further restraints' means imposing additional taxes on car ownership, for example, then one wonders how effective the outcome will be.

Singapore's public transport system is already among the best in the world. While there is definitely still room for improvement, it is hard to imagine that a better public transport system, or more vehicle quotas and taxes, will solve the problem.

The car population continues to grow every year despite congestion pricing measures and the implementation of certificates of entitlement (COEs). In 2007, the number of privately owned cars in Singapore was 505,987. In 2008, it was 540,455. As of October last year, according to the latest Land Transport Authority figures, Singapore had 562,397 cars. The recent hikes in taxi prices have also not helped the situation, as there are some who now feel that it is more economical to own and drive a car than to travel in cabs.

The rising car population could, of course, be due to the increasing number of immigrants and new residents here. But as Singapore heads towards a six-million population, surely the starting point of any emissions-reduction programme is to figure out how to control its car population.

While more people are driving, more are also running and cycling. Last year saw the news that the Singapore Marathon had attracted a record 50,000 participants. The city also has an inordinate number of night races, triathlons, Ironman challenges, bike-a-thons and ultra-marathons.

Imagine if we could channel the energies of all the runners and cyclists in Singapore into something worthwhile - by getting them to ditch their cars on their regular commutes.

The Government is, perhaps, thinking along these lines. Recently, it was announced that as part of a two-year trial, Tampines would be turned into a cycling town where chunks of pedestrian walkways would be carved out for cyclists. Hopefully, if the trial is a success, this programme can be translated eventually onto a bigger canvas - say, Orchard Road or Shenton Way.

Imagine that. But think again.

Singaporeans, anecdotally, are probably among the world's worst pedestrians, motorists and cyclists. We have no social graces and even less patience.

Recent reports of cyclists being killed in traffic accidents ring home this sad truth. While reckless cyclists obviously do not do themselves any favours on the road, it is usually the car that wins. Obviously in Singapore, it is a case of four wheels best, two wheels go and die, lah.

Any pedestrian trying to cross Mount Elizabeth, that perilous gauntlet between Lucky Plaza and Tong Building, knows that cars would rather mow humans and prams down than stop and give way. 'This is not a pedestrian crossing what,' said a surly taxi driver to me once, as he revved his engine at a hapless family trying to make its way to the other side on foot.

Recession or no, Singaporeans are still mad for cars. And this rule applies as well to recreational cyclists and runners, who are happy to move their feet and pedals anywhere except on their regular commutes to work.

Of course, they have some valid reasons for this. There are the issues of safety and Singapore's hot and humid weather, which makes a work commute by bike or foot rather unattractive. But if it is a matter of having adequate shower facilities in the city, surely that problem can be easily solved. If individual offices do not provide shower facilities, perhaps one can turn to the many fitness clubs and gyms around the island instead.

Nay, the true crux of the problem lies in the fact that owning a car in Singapore - despite the usual grouses about COE prices and parking fees - is really not that much of a hassle. The roads are not as badly congested as those in other metro-polises. New York traffic, for example, is notoriously bad - therefore, it is no surprise that its residents account for almost a third of all the public-transit passenger miles travelled in the United States.

And while the Singapore Government has taken steps over the years to ease traffic congestion, this might actually not be the best course of action in the long term. Mr David Owen, author of Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, And Driving Less Are The Keys To Sustainability, wrote in the Wall Street Journal on Oct 9 last year that such steps would only have the environmentally adverse effect of making more people turn to their cars even more. This is because once congestion is eased, it will encourage more drivers to take to the road.

Plus, it is still debatable if me-thods such as congestion pricing actually ease traffic. He cited 1999 findings by Australian researchers Peter Newman and Jeff Kenworthy, who concluded that 'there is no guarantee that congestion pricing will simultaneously improve congestion and sustainability'.

One of the examples they brought up was that congestion pricing and similar measures could cause motorists to drive exactly as they always have if the congestion charge is covered by their employers. In other words, people who are paid a car allowance by their companies will not be affected.

Singaporeans obviously are willing to pay top dollar for the right to own and drive a car, even in a recession year. And this has had the unanticipated effect of making car ownership a status symbol for this nation of arrivistes. In cities like New York, princes and paupers alike ride on the subway - which, I might add, is way less efficient than the MRT. In Singapore, however, people are still judged by the type of car they drive, as well as the number of cars they have in their driveway.

So, what this country needs are measures that go beyond the wallet and which push the comfort zones of all idling motorists. Build fewer carparks. Carve out more bike lanes on major roads instead of pushing cyclists onto pedestrian walkways. In fact, increase the number of pedestrian walkways. But, at the same time, make sure the public transport system is beyond reproach and that there is no part of Singapore that cannot be reached easily by bus, MRT or taxi.

Most importantly, start public education programmes on road courtesy and safety for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians alike. Nothing will come to pass unless Singaporeans are convinced in their hearts and minds that this is the right thing to do and that it is not a social stigma to travel on public transport.

It is a long road towards a better and greener commute. But that road will only get more arduous if we do not do something about it soon.

The writer, a former Straits Times journalist, is a freelance writer and PR consultant who travels on public transport.