Operators hope Private Car Rental Scheme would be expanded to include weekdays
Xue Jianyue Today Online 15 Mar 14;
SINGAPORE — Industry players have welcomed the Government’s move to boost car-sharing by adding more car park lots, but they suggested the authorities could also address the low visibility of car-sharing stations in multi-storey car parks as well as growing business costs.
Some car-sharing operators — which count 9,000 drivers here as members — also hope the authorities can extend a private car rental scheme to weekdays and alleviate rising costs caused by increasing car prices.
Their comments followed Senior Minister of State (Transport) Josephine Teo’s announcement in Parliament earlier this week that more parking lots in the heartlands would be set aside for shared cars.
There are around 300 such cars at 121 stations islandwide today, said Car-Sharing Association (Singapore) President Lai Meng. The number of these vehicles has stayed the same in the last two years.
Challenges faced by the industry include a lack of awareness of how car-sharing works and getting suitable car parks to start new car-sharing stations, said Mr Lai, who is also Managing Director of Car Club. He also flagged the high cost of adding new shared cars — a concern shared by Mr Ho Kok Kee, who is Managing Director of Popular Rent A Car, a car rental company that provides car-sharing through its Whizzcar programme.
Popular Rent A Car had planned to add 10 more car-sharing stations since November, but only added four in Woodlands, Bedok and Jurong due to the rising costs of cars, which make up about half the firm’s total operating cost. “It is a double-edged sword,” said Mr Ho of the rise in Certificate of Entitlement premiums. “On one hand, it enlarges our potential, but it also adds on very significant business cost for us.”
To make the car-sharing option more visible, Mr Ho called for car park lots at the ground floor of multi-storey car parks to be reserved for car-sharing vehicles.
However, iCarsclub Marketing Manager Marvin Mohan felt setting aside parking spaces for shared cars would not be necessary if Singapore utilises the huge numbers of existing private cars. Sharing existing private cars generates income for many car owners who are paying off car insurance and maintenance costs, and it is more sustainable as the country’s population grows, he said.
Mr Mohan added that he hoped the Government would expand the Private Car Rental Scheme to weekdays, too. The scheme was introduced in 1996 to allow private cars to be rented out, but only on weekends and public holidays.
In a written parliamentary reply in November, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew had said the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) review indicated that the scheme was adequate and current levels of demand did not justify further liberalisation. He had added that car-sharing firms would put up 18 more stations in the coming months, which would mean a 20 per cent increase in the total number of stations, with two to three cars at each station.
The LTA and the Housing and Development Board, in consultation with car-sharing operators, are in the process of identifying suitable locations for the 18 stations, said the two agencies in a joint statement yesterday. “Details will be shared when ready,” they added.
Mr Mohamed Khairul, a father of two, found the car-sharing scheme a cheaper alternative to owning a car or travelling by taxi. He spends about S$500 to S$700 each month on car-sharing and uses the vehicle to take his son to school or for family outings. “Without the car, I cannot take my son to class on weekends. I would have to hail a taxi and, on rainy days, (it is) very hard to get a one,” said the 36-year-old.
