Parliament briefs: Park & Ride ending but not savings

Park & Ride ending but not savings

Motorists who park outside the Central Business District (CBD) and continue their journeys by public transport can still enjoy savings of "a few hundred dollars" monthly, even with the Park & Ride scheme ending next month, said Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan.

This is because they do not need to pay ERP charges or for season parking in the CBD, which is more expensive than outside the business district, he said.

He added: "There is no need for taxpayers to provide further subsidies."

The scheme to reduce congestion in the CBD was introduced in 1975 when the public transport network was not as well developed, he said.

Only half of the regular users, who number less than 2,000, take public transport after parking their vehicles, he added.

This suggested that they were using it as "cheap, subsidised destination parking", thus defeating the purpose of the scheme, said Mr Khaw, in response to queries from Mr Ang Wei Neng (Jurong GRC) and Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten).


Recovery in cab fare evasion cases

The Land Transport Authority is able to recover fares in about half of all taxi fare evasion cases, Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan said yesterday.

These include incidents where the fare evader is not identified, which make up about 65 per cent of the 150 fare-evasion cases each month.

To further deter fare evasion, higher penalties were introduced in May. Those found guilty of fare evasion face a fine of $1,000 for a first offence, and a $2,000 fine and six months' jail for subsequent offences.

Responding to queries by Nominated MP Randolph Tan, Mr Khaw said taxi operators could look to private-hire car services Uber and Grab to see how they handle fare evasions.

Replying to NMP Chia Yong Yong on whether in-vehicle cameras could be installed to deter such cheats, Mr Khaw said they would only have a limited success rate without more information about the offenders.

In cases where the fare evader is identified, there is an 85 per cent rate of success in recovering the fares, he said.

Zhaki Abdullah

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 08, 2016, with the headline Parliament briefs: Park & Ride ending but not savings. Subscribe