SINGAPORE - Motorists who park outside the Central Business District (CBD) and continue their journeys via public transport can still enjoy savings of up to "a few hundred dollars" even without the Park and Ride scheme, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan told Parliament on Monday (Nov 7).

"There is no need for taxpayers to provide further subsidies," he said.

The scheme, aimed at reducing congestion in the Central Business District (CBD), was first introduced in 1975 when the public transport network was not as well developed, he noted.

"Today, many commuters are able to take the MRT and buses directly to the city from their homes, which makes the Park and Ride scheme much less useful," he said, in response to queries from Mr Ang Wei Neng (Jurong GRC) and Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten).

He added that only half of the scheme's regular users, who number less than 2,000, take public transport after parking their vehicles.

This suggested that they were using it as "cheap, subsidised destination parking", thus defeating the purpose of the scheme, said Mr Khaw.