Govt, firms can take more steps towards a car-lite S’pore

I would like to commend the Land Transport Authority (LTA) for implementing a car-lite urban mobility design for Bencoolen Street. Efforts towards making car-heavy streets into car-lite ones will benefit not only pedestrians and cyclists, but also, and more importantly, our environment.

The LTA should also extend this initiative to other areas in Singapore.

Motor vehicles are a major source of air pollution. And according to Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) Singapore, each car takes up road space plus two to six parking spaces. Roads make up 12 per cent of Singapore’s land, compared with land for housing at 14 per cent.

The Government can collaborate with corporations. Companies can encourage employees to commute to work by public transit or car-sharing services, or offer bike parking spaces.

The Government or corporate sector can also increase car-sharing initiatives. According to University of California, Berkeley’s Transportation Sustainable Research Centre, the car-sharing service car2go led to a decrease in the number of vehicles on the road and greenhouse gas emissions.

Public transport would not be able to replace car ownership in Singapore, but I strongly encourage citizens to walk, cycle and use public transit more, and consider car ownership as a luxury.