Fewer Cars Scrapped

Business Times has reported today that the scrap rate for vehicles was flat in May 2012 and dealers anticipate that COE quota premium for small cars will hit $80,000 and big cars will test the 6-digit $100,000 mark.

The demand for Category A COEs for small cars will be fuelled by the competitive taxi companies and premium makes with more powerful smaller engines.  It seems that the mass market makes may be priced out if LTA limits the "cooling" measures to the followings:
1. The deferment of the planned cut in allowable annual vehicle growth rate.  The rate will be cut to 1% from August, instead of 0.5% which will be effective from February 2013.
2. An exercise to reduce COEs to compensate for the oversupply in 2008 and 2009 is delayed to July 2013.
3. Open category COEs will be made up of smaller contributions from the other categories.

The next six-monthly quota will depend on the scrap rate up till June 2012 and it is not looking rosy with the May figure being flat.

Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew stated during Parliament on May 14 that a "Pay As You Bid" system to curb excessive bidding for COEs was not feasible.  He mentioned that feedback gathered from industry members and academics at the 1999 review revealed that the PAYB method has several drawbacks but he did not elaborate on what were the drawbacks.  He shifted the focus to PAYB method having less merit since the open bidding system for COEs was implemented in 2001.  Open bidding means that the public are aware of the current COE bid prices so there is no incentive for bidders to put in bids higher than what they are prepared to pay for.

I completely disagree as I deduce that the reason for not implementing the PAYB method is the high cost of maintaing the bidding system that is able to cope with the anticipated high volume in bid price changes lodged near the 4pm closing time.  I am sure that nobody wants to appear stupid in overpaying for the COE and thus, will not be overly aggressive on early bids.  And LTA also does not want to face angry bidders (mostly dealers) who failed to change their bid price to secure the COEs.

Will the extra windfall from the additional premium (difference from the minimum winning bid) collected from the higher PAYB bidders pay for the system upgrade?  It is very unlikely since most will become responsible (smart) bidders.  Thus, it is almost certain that we will not even see a trial of PAYB method since it does not make economic sense to LTA (or the government) for paying more cost and reaping less revenue.  Sigh ... I wonder if we will ever get a Transport Minister that will support the PAYB method ... probably NOT in my lifetime.  A parting note for LTY ... I do not mind eating my words 8-)

D-I-Y Headlamp Bulb

I managed to change the H4 bulb for my left headlamp after doing some "research" ... I searched for "H4 bulb" on the local forum for my car make/model and found a kind soul "NSMan" has uploaded photos in sequence how to D-I-Y.

I bought the bulb from a nearby Esso petrol station, got a torch and follow the simple instructions.  The challenge is accessing the limited space to replace the bulb.  The instructions on removing the connector, rubber guard and pin holding the bulb helps tremendously.  There is no such instruction in the car manual.

So how many men are required to change a car's lightbulb?  Just one - either the mechanic or the owner with internet access 8-)

Drivers at General Election 2011

Image source: www.ge.sg

The analogy using motoring was launched by Opposition MP Mr Low Thia Khiang in the first Workers' Party rally on April 28 (Source - The Straits Times):

WP chief Low Thia Khiang, speaking at the party's first rally in a field in Hougang Central, said: 'A co-driver is essential, especially when the road gets tougher to navigate. The co-driver is there to slap the driver when he drives off course or when he goes asleep.

'But, of course, if the driver is friendly and drives responsibly, we just keep talking to him to keep him awake.'

Describing the WP as someone without a driving licence, Mr Low said whether it could get a licence depends on the voters.

He cautioned that without co-drivers, Singaporeans would continue to be taken for a ride.

The analogy from Mr Low is very apt for describing the current political landscape and a series of rebuttal from the ruling party was spawned.

His motoring analogy has triggered my assessment of the state of local motoring for the last five years. I subscribed whole-heartedly to the Land Transport Masterplan (2008) that strives to meet the diverse needs of the people. I also personally felt that it is extremely difficult and complex to balance between the demand of the people and the available resources (supply) like road and transit networks, vehicle population control, etc.

The biggest issue that sticks in my mind is the COE Allocation Formula. Please read my previous post on Messed Up by Formula. The Transport Minister Mr. Raymond Lim seems to keep a low profile and I even had difficulty recalling his name. After the change to the Vehicle Quota System (VQS) Methodology in March 2010 (Source: LTA), his deputy, the Second Transport Minister Ms. Lim Hwee Hua dismissed lightly that the spike in certificate of entitlement (COE) premiums and car prices that week was not caused by changes to a formula to determine the number of replacement COEs (Source: AsiaOne). The flaw in the formula was acknowledged but I did not recall seeing any "apology". You should read how Ms. Lim disproved the correlation of the revised formula to the premium spike - I was simply amused.

The Motor Traders Association of Singapore (MTA) has written to Transport Minister Raymond Lim, in January 2011 to suggest the removal of taxis from the Category A COE quota, and doing away with Category E (open category) COEs (Source: CNA). MTA said taxi operators currently compete with the private car buyer for a COE as they are required to bid for a Category A COE to register their new taxis which add pressure on the Category A COE premiums and taxi operators are in a better position to bid more for COEs being business enterprises. The Transport Ministry said taxi companies made up only a small proportion of about 7% of the total successful bids for Category A COEs from July to December 2010. The ministry added that taxis are allowed to bid for COEs in Category A in recognition of the fact that they are part of the public transport spectrum, albeit at the high end. It said taxi companies replacing their fleet also need not necessarily bid for a new COE. They have the option of renewing expired COEs by paying the Prevailing Quota Premium (PQP).

If recommendations from MTA (made up of expert practitioners in the industry) cannot drive changes at the ministry, the voice of individual motorist is just a whisper in the wind. But on Polling day 7th May, my vote will be counted ...

Give Way to YOG

Happy 45th Birthday to Singapore! Fly Our flag.

Happy Birthday! I like this music video of the Singapore National Day Parade 2010 theme song, especially the closing part where our flags are put up on the facade of the housing flat.

Have you fly the flag on your ride? I have put up the decal from Esso on mine.

Give Way to Youth Olympians

Source: LTA

I am surprised this morning to find new road markings painted along the Pan-Island Expressway - "GIVE WAY OOOOO" (well, the five circles overlap ... oh, that is the Olympic symbol).  I am certainly NOT amused when two lanes of the expressway was closed for the LTA contractor to burn more of such markings and traffic slowed to a crawl as all vehicles have to filtered to the only passable lane.  A few thoughts immediately crossed my mind:

1. What warrants the "permanent" marking on the road for an event that lasts only two weeks?

2. This large marking cause some noise when I go over them.  And I am very concerned about riders' safety when going over the markings in wet weather.

3. Will posters on lighting poles function just as well to educate our motorists to give way to YOG buses or cars?  They are probably easier to install and remove.  Most importantly, they may cause only minimal inconvenience to other motorists.

4. I remember hearing over the radio news that the YOG budget had over-ran by about three times.  Is the road marking one of the extravagant ways of showing the world over YOG broadcast of our "world-class" effort to host the game?

I support the YOG too ... but not this BAD idea.

Who has Hitched a Ride?

I found this fellow hanging on to my car's radio antenna. It must have been taken for a ride since I parked earlier at a wooded area before driving over to TradeHub21. It is strong to have held tightly to the antenna since I must have driven above 70km/h on the way here.



Here's a close-up ... I still cannot make out if it is a grasshopper or a mantis or just a green cockroach.



Another shot with background of a wall.



Can you tell what insect is it?

Forum's responses:

1. Praying mantis
2. Grasshopper
3. Bush-cricket or katydid

And the interesting note about the web or saliva. So, here's what I found on examining the antenna - see the strand going across the left of the antenna.

Go Where? Go There

I have been flipping through my good old street directory if I am heading to a new or unknown (to me) destination. On reflecting my unsafe action (still flipping the directory while my car is moving), I felt that I should develop the habit of planning my route before the journey. I have used the online street directories to see the destination in the past and decided to try a site mentioned in the Digital Life section of the Straits Times a few weeks ago - GoThere.sg.

Cool! I like the application for the following reasons:
1. The map has the route highlighted plus other alternate routes, cost and estimated time taken.
2. Options for route are Bus, Train+Bus, Taxi and Car.
3. Useful information like parking rates at car parks near the destination.
4. Option to avoid ERP and expressway for Taxi and Car.

I am sure that there are many other features of the application that I may not have covered above. At the top of my wishlist is for the mobile version be made available soon since I may need to plan my trip when I am away from my laptop.

Test drive the application GoThere today. Planning your trip will not only save you time but makes it a safer drive too.

Sniffing for the best Petrol Discount

Fuel cost makes up a significant part of the car operating cost and less well-off motorists are prudent to sieve out the best discount from the four local players - Caltex, Esso, Shell and SPC. Once you have found the "best" discount, you tend to stick to the routine such as to only pump Esso 5000 and pay with Citibank's Dividend credit car or other players with the respective tie-up with banks. Well, I advise you to periodically check the active motoring forums (eg. My Car Forum) to look for special offer.

I managed to sniff out the introductory offer of $5 discount for $50 gross worth of petrol at Caltex Clementi (ignore the January 15 expiry date above as the offer is extended to the Chinese New Year). As I was queuing to pay there, I was so surprised to see the lady ahead of me handing the cashier the $3 Discount Coupon (which is the regular discount offered at all Caltex kiosks). Gee ... she had just forgone the extra $2 discount! And the cashier just meekly processed the payment without offering the flyer containing the $5 discount vouchers.

The moral of the story - take the trouble to look for deeper discount!

If you want to maximize your savings, you should pump exactly $50 net worth of petrol to yield 10% discount excluding other discount. If you pump full tank, the amount may be $60 to only yield 8.33% discount.

For those who monitor their cars' fuel consumption using the full-tank measure method may still pump the minimum gross $50 worth and add up all distance travelled against all volume pumped during the offer period. I have also unprotect the tool so that you can easily change the formula of the cells to lump together the data of these fillings.

To illustrate the approach, download the file and see the FuelConsumption tab. The fuel consumption during such a promotion from May 7 to May 26 is computed by the total distance from the odometer divided by the sum of the four fillings over the period.

Related post: Good Estimate of Fuel Consumption

Demise of TV Mobile => Restful Journey

I had to attend several full-day workshops in town this month. Not wanting to pay the expensive parking rates in the Central Business District, I left my car at home and took the bus. I was pleasantly surprised to have restful journeys on the bus and I wondered why it felt so different from the past. Aha! The silent TV screens on the buses announced that TV Mobile has ceased operations at the end of 2009 and it thanked the public for the support.

Support? Potato couches may appreciate TV Mobile but the general public should be glad that the noise pollution has come to a stop. In the first place, I could not believe that LTA had approved the application for such a (dis)service. I felt that the setup of TV Mobile with the loud speakers blasting the programme throughout the bus is a blatant form of "audio-invasion" into the passengers' personal space. It is acceptable to just have the TV screens showing the programme and those watching can tune to FM 89.3 MHz using headsets on their portable devices. We can close our eyes but we cannot shut our ears. Good riddance!

Happy New Year!!!

I read a forum thread on New Year resolution ... but eh, I saw many "wishes" rather than resolutions for 2010. By definition, resolution is a decision to do something or to behave in a certain manner; "he always wrote down his New Year's resolutions" wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn.

Life is driven by cause & effect ... so effect will not materialize if you do not put in the effort. So ...
1. If you wish for good health, please eat well and exercise more regularly.
2. If you wish for wealth, please buy more lottery like 4D and Toto (beware the side effect of spending more than you win). You really have better odds in working harder at your job/business.
3. If you wish for happiness, smile more and pass happiness to others.

My 2010 motoring resolution is to have more patience while driving on the road ...
1. If I get annoyed by a fast/reckless motorist, first thought to my mind should be that whatever emergency he/she is attending to will turn out well.
2. If I get annoyed by a slow/hogging motorist, first thought to my mind is that I was like that on the first day on the road after getting my driving licence 8-)

Here's wishing all my blog visitors a better 2010 and safe driving!

Merry Christmas!!!

Here's wishing all my blog visitors a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

And amidst the celebration and merry making, please be reminded NOT to drink and drive.

What is Brewing in the Transport GPC?

Our local paper The Straits Times reported on Tuesday October 27 that "More Cars, so public transport trips down". The interesting news is that the public transport's share of total number of trips made during the morning peak period is moving away from the 2020 target of 70%. It was 67% in 1997, 63% in 2004 and 59% in 2008.

Quoting from the article:

Dr Lim Wee Kiak, head of the Government Parlimentary Committee for Transport, believes transport planners should have been more aggressive in reducing the supply of certificates of entitlement (COEs) when premiums started falling three years ago.

He said: "They have an inflexible system. They tend to stick to the growth rate once they have announced it. I think they should be a bit like how the Ministry of National Development releases land - according to demand and the economy."

It is uncommon to hear a Member of Parliament bluntly criticized the Land Transport Authority. However, I do not agree to his viewpoint to have the supply of COEs controlled like land sales by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).

SLA can release more reserve sites or move reserve sites to confirm sites when cooling measures need to be taken to prevent a real estate bubble. Conversely, SLA can also suspend land sales during an economic crisis as the developers are unlikely to bid above the reserve price (near the Estimated Market Value). Confirmed sites may also not be sold if the highest bid is below the reserve price.

Is Dr Lim suggesting that the supply of COEs be managed in the similar structure as land sales? In that case, LTA could make regular adjustments to the supply of COEs based on current variables relevant to meeting its objectives. Local motorists will be keen to know what are the objectives in such a structure. I am trying to picture different scenarios:

1. Booming economy - LTA releases more COEs for bidding and reaps record revenue for the government since demand is up and bidding is competitive. Prevailing Quota Premium is also high and discourages COE renewal for old vehicles. Lower income residents have no choice but to use public transportation and low performing businesses go bust due to the higher operating (goods delivery) cost for transportation.

2. Economic crisis - LTA sets a reserve price according to the estimated market value and thus, fewer COEs are awarded. Prevailing Quota Premium is supported by the reserve price and is still effective in discouraging COE renewal for old vehicles. Lower income residents have no choice but to use public transportation and low performing businesses go bust due to the higher operating (goods delivery) cost for transportation.

Why are the outcome in both scenarios similar? If getting to 70% by 2020 is the single goal, increasing the ownership cost and operating cost of private transport will surely drive up the usage of public transport.

It is extremely complex to meet the needs of businesses, public transport users, private transport owners and other players in the transport industry. I think hard about this problem and also do not have a simple solution that can please everyone.

I would suggest two areas of improvement to be considered:

1. Usage distribution - work with other parts of the Government to drive the spreading of demand on our transportation system e.g. tax incentives for companies to supply shuttle service from their offices to the MRT stations, flexible working hours, subsidy for onsite childcare, etc.

2. Connectivity redesign - overhaul the design of bus routes around the island, frequent reviews and adaptive changes. LTA manages the routes while the operators bid and passengers vote on the service level.

I am personally happy using public transportation during off-peak hours. But I have heard enough horror stories of the daily rush hours ..... And to members of the transport GPC, I am very willing to give up my car when we have a world-class public transportation system!

Personalised Plate for Your Ride?

Still No 'YEA' - LTA responded to the Straits Times that the change to allow fancy plates were still being considered but without any target date. Thus, motorists keen to have their personalised number plates will have to continue to wait in vain.

What will be my pick with the current system? It is coming in the next series SKX 8 Y. My most ideal personalised plate is SKX 1 Y (my blogging moniker) but the computed suffix is R, not Y. You can check the computed suffix with this tool Vehicle Registration Suffix.

Related post: The Number Games

ICE Job

Since I got my ride in January this year, I have been contemplating a simple ICE (In Car Entertainment) job i.e. the replacement of the head unit (HU). The custom-built one looks nice but it is lacking in a few areas:

1. No AUX input - it is a single-disc player and I think it is safer to listen to a long playlist on a MP3 player than to change CDs while on a long drive.

2. CD format - the CD player does not support MP3, Windows Media or Apple's AAC formats.

3. Poor radio reception - the quality of broadcast received from FM stations is quite bad.

I gave myself a few months to see if I can endure these shortcomings. I made a firm decision that I could not early last month when the thought of the long ride to Genting Highlands during the September school holiday fills my mind.

As I have a limited budget, I drop the desire for a DVD receiver, lower my expectation of sound quality and place esthetic on a higher priority. As the stock HU is of 2-din dimension, I enquired on how a 1-din HU will look in its place. A box can be added below or above the 1-din HU installation but I do not like the odd setup. Thus, I limit my search to only 2-din CD receiver HU. These are the brands that I considered: Kenwood, Pioneer and Sony. I wrote off Kenwood as I do not like having a USB drive sticking into the front USB port.

The Pioneer 2-din CD receiver HU is a popular choice among owners of my car make. However, I find that the blue OLED lighting does not match the dashboard well. The Sony HU is a better match once I discovered that the key illumination can be switched to amber. Although the sound quality of the Pioneer HU is known to be better, I decided on the Sony HU model WX-GT78UI since the price is lower, its features meet most of my criteria and I can use the savings on the speaker upgrade. I settled on the Hertz Energy series ESK165 and ECX165. The installation of the HU and speakers took about two hours. I was not aware of the complexity until the technician started to take apart the dashboard and the doors' panel.





After a week's use, here is the assessment of my first ICE job:

Sound quality is significantly enhanced but I do not know how much to attribute the improvement to the speakers versus the HU. Placing the tweeters outside of the front columns (where the stock tweeters are located), on top of the dashboard helps deliver the higher frequencies very clearly. I will definitely replace stock ICE in my future rides.



The HU matches nicely to the matt black dashboard - the main front panel is glossy black and the twelve keys around the big circular LED display are in matt black. The amber key illumination also matches well with the air-con control and other dashboard readings, especially in the dark. The LED displays the track name and album title in English but does not support Chinese or Japanese characters (an underscore character "_" appears in place of each unsupported character).



The USB port is at the rear and the unit is bundled with a cable that can be installed at a convenient location; I asked to place the USB adapter in the glove compartment as shown. Thus, my USB drive can be connected and neatly stored. Sound quality from the playback of USB media is good. The HU can also support several models of iPod with the bundled USB adapter (no need for special iPod adapter) but both models that I have, the iPod Mini and iPod Shuffle, are not supported ... sigh.



I also cut a CD with songs in all three formats (MP3, WMA, AAC) and the HU could recognize the CD with Digital Media. The HU has a special feature DM+ which enhances the sound quality of Digital Media.

Radio reception is clear and now I enjoy the radio broadcast much better than the stock unit. It has three sets of 6 FM preset frequencies and two sets for AM frequencies. The preset frequency keys are on the right hand side of the big circular LED display.

The front AUX port enable audio input from my portable DVD player and MP3 players. However, I find that the sound quality is not that great using the AUX port.

In conclusion, I am very satisfied with this ICE upgrade. The ICE research done over the internet and chat with the technician have already given me ideas for future upgrades - amplifier, subwoofers, processor, CD changer, DVD, GPS, etc. I attached the cool night display to end this post.

Is Red Plate More Attractive Now?

LTA has just announced over the weekend "Enhancements To The Off-Peak Car (OPC) Scheme". Analysis in the local papers revealed the net incentive value of less than $1,000 for the extra periods (Saturday mornings and 5 Public Holiday Eves) of time OPC vehicles are allowed on the roads. One key enhancement is the ability to purchase e-Day License within 24 hours the next day after using the vehicle - this is key for emergency use without the risk of not having a paper ticket or tearing off the wrong date (anxiety from the emergency). The other one is the rebate returned every 6 month for conversion rather than when the OPC vehicle is scrapped.

There are three areas that the enhancements did not addressed:

1. The $100 administration fees eat into the savings for motorists. I believe that LTA is highly computerized so the cost of the transaction should be rather low. Why discourage such transactions?

2. The red plates are not going away ... the fees to put up one with the seal also cost money.

3. No e-1/2 Day License. If I need to use the car for only half a day, I will still have to pay for a full day license.

In conclusion, I think the enhancements may attract new OPC buyers rather than existing motorists. I look forward to hearing more enhancements from LTA in 2010.

Porsche Carrera versus Boeing 747

An interesting race between two different type of transport will take place on September 5 as reported at AsiaOne Motoring and other local media. I want to watch the race in person but I will be out of town on that day. It was a difficult decision to turn down the invitation from nuffnang last week. In my opinion, Boeing 747 is at an disadvantage since its best performance is in the air. My bet is on the Porsche Carrera GT3 beating the big jumbo.

Update September 9: Race result - The Porsche 911 GT3 Carrera Cup race car covered the 1.7km distance in 19.8 seconds, beating the Boeing 747 by 0.4 seconds. Reports - The Straits Times, The New Paper.

World's Biggest CNG Pump

Green motorists who have converted or bought CNG powered rides will have a new venue to top up their tanks. I am also pleasantly surprised to read that it will be the biggest in the world when it opens at Old Toh Tuck Road on September 9 - what an auspicious date 09-09-09!

Read the published news article here.

你看什么？lekuasimi

I like this spoof on the NDP 2009 theme song "What Do You See?" with Ah Beng's view on motoring in Singapore. Enjoy it!

Punish Motor Claim Fraudsters

Police is investigating a workshop for fraudalent motor insurance claims. This is excellent news for motorists who are penalized by increased motor insurance premium.

I admire the courage of the motorist who sue the other party that had inflated the claim and use a false witness. It is also high time for the Police to probe and charge those guilty of fraud. The judge hearing the case should dish out the appropriate punishment to deter other fraudsters from similar cases. I think the guilty party should also foot all the legal fees so that will encourage insurance companies to file legal suits in support their clients who are clearly victimized.

Most workshops and accident victims will "inflat" (maximize) their damage claim so insurance companies should negotiate for a fair settlement. Substantial medical claim for whiplash injury should be subjected to close scrutiny. If the victim receive compensation and found participating in a marathon just shortly after suffering the injury. Is he a fraudster?

Do you support putting those buggers behind bars? Unscrupulous parties falsifying evidence, witness or injury claims must be stopped otherwise they will become greedier, stage accidents and cause harm to unsuspecting motorists.