Through decades of planning and cultivation, Singapore has earned the name of a “Garden City”. Within 277 square miles a population of 5.7 million resides, one of the top 3 major global financial centers. Singaporean local Gavin Foo showcases the core of this economic hub with a skyline built entirely from LEGO bricks. This jungle of towering concrete structures hosts the banking and finance industry, whilst along the Singapore river is the place to head for a cold beer at the end of a hard day’s work.
I once read that, due to how densely packed the population is, they have set up painfully expensive registration taxes on cars to discourage ownership. So, if you really want that stock economy compact, you better have the spare $100,000 to burn. And if you want a car that’s worth actually bragging about…
With a relatively efficient public transport system and relatively low taxi/private hire fares, most people do not really need a vehicle in Singapore. A want, yes. A need, not necessarily.
That may have been the case a decade ago, but it sounds like a growing population paired with a stagnant public transportation system has resulted in overcrowding, and poor maintenance has only amplified the problem by reducing the number of trains and buses they can devote to keeping up with demand.
And it sounds like, even though they heavily discourage it, the streets are laid out to favor private cars, making it a hassle to switch from one line to another.
Besides that, there is that whole thing where they’ve basically turned cars into a status symbol with a fixed cap within a growing population, and I’m sure the idea of car ownership is the cause of at least a few ulcers.