Transport Minister Raymond Lim said the OPC scheme 'is something we should encourage' as it fits Singapore's overall strategy of managing road demand. -- ST PHOTO: SHAHRIYA YAHAYA
IT COULD soon become more attractive for motorists to switch to off-peak cars (OPC).
Transport Minister Raymond Lim said in Parliament on Thursday that the Government will look into enhancing the OPC scheme in three areas.
Firstly, the supplementary day licence, currently a cumbersome paper permit that is prone to tampering and hard to enforce, will be replaced by an electronic system.
Secondly, the Government will look into granting cash rebates to motorists who convert their normal cars to OPCs. This, Mr Lim said, will be a more attractive incentive than the current system, under which the car owner gets the rebate when he deregisters the vehicle.
Finally, the Government will relook the resticted hours that OPCs can ply without charge.
Currently, these cars can only be used from 7pm to 7am on weekdays and after 3pm on Saturdays, and for the full day on Sundays and public holidays.
Over the years, the Government has received numerous feedback from OPC motorists asking for the red-plated cars to be allowed to complete free usage on Saturdays.
The Minister hinted that free use for the whole of Saturdays could be possible, but there would be commensurate adjustment to the tax breaks that OPCs are given.
OPCs now get a one-off $17,000 rebate on their registration taxes.
Mr Lim said the OPC scheme 'is something we should encourage' as it fits Singapore's overall strategy of managing road demand.
He pointed out that there are about 42,000 OPCs today, five times more than the 5,000 back in end-2005.
They make up about 7.7 per cent of Singapore's car population.
