Connect with us

Current Affairs

Public car park rates will be increased for the first time in 14 years

Published

8 years ago

on

Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Housing and Development Board (HDB) has announced that public car park rates will be increased and made effective on 1 December at end of this year after it held a review on the rates. This increase of parking rates for public car park charges for both short-term and season parking will be the first increase in 14 years since 2002.

HDB said it may implement different car park rates for non-residents who are using its parking lot, as well as residents who own more than one car, therefore need more parking spaces. “Differentiated parking charges could help to better manage parking demand, with priority accorded to the parking needs of residents’ first car,” it said.

HDB, which manages about 607,000 car parking spaces, said that despite the unchanging car park charges within 14 years, they have been making improvements. “Some examples of improvements include better-designed car parks with landscaped decks, implementation of the Electronic Parking System to regulate parking demand more effectively and the addition of lifts at existing MSCPs (multi-storey car parks) where feasible,” it said.

URA, which manages about 24,000 car parking lots, said that they need to make the smaller gap between the charge of public and private parking lots. “The last islandwide revision of car park charges was done 14 years ago in 2002. Since then, the costs of managing and operating car parks have increased substantially. This is reflected in the current fees charged by most private car parks, which are substantially higher than public car parks,” it said.

National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said in parliament that the public car park rates need to be raised to bring them in line with those in other cities and for Singapore to become a car-lite society. Two months after his speech, the review of the carpark fees came out.

A parking policy expert reportedly said that the Government should focusing on studying pricing as means of managing congestion and parking demand, rather than covering higher costs and this should be done on a more regular basis. This could mean varying rates depending on location, time and occupancy.

“The primary purpose of the price is actually to ration that car park – to make sure that it’s not totally full. Because full parking causes all sorts of nasty side effects. You get queues outside, you get people circling around the neighbourhood and that causes all sorts of nasty problems including traffic congestion,” said Dr Paul Barter, Adjunct Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

“What we need to do in Singapore is to get back to the original idea that pricing street parking has a purpose, and we avoid overdoing it as well so that we don’t have empty parking (lots) either,” he added.

The raise in the charge surely set some people off. A man, by name Chee Hian on Facebook, did a research by himself to question the rationales of the increase.

He posted on the Ministry of National Development’s Facebook page about the shocking number he found.

He claimed that he had gone through a research of the annual reports of HDB and URA and highlighted three points in his posting.

  1. According to the annual reports of HBD for FY 14/15, the income from “Car park income” was $595,247,000 and the expenses of “Operating fee for car park maintenance expenses and others” was $78,859,000. While URA’s income from “Parking fees and other charges” for FY14/15 was $71,284,000 and the expenses of “Property and car park maintenance” was $11,955,000.

    Total combined income and expenses were $666,531,000 and $90,814,000. This means that HBD and URA’s income is at 7.33x the expenses.

  2. Secondly, in the annual reports, both HBD and URA noted “noted that the last price revision was in 2002″ and a URA’s spokesman said ” Since then, the cost of managing and operating car parks have increased substantially.”

    According to annual reports, HBD’s car parks income increased from $522,942,000 (FY09/10) to $595,247,000 (FY14/15), averaging increment of $14,461,000 per year and car park expenses increased from $38,729,000 to $78,859,000 averaging increment of $8,026,000 per year. While URA’s car park income increased from $50,582,000 (FY02/03) to $71,284,000 (FY14/15) averaging increment of $1,725,250 per year and car park expenses  increased from $6,831,000 (FY02/02) to $11,955,000 (FY14/15) averaging increment of $428,500 per year.

    It can be seen clearly that the income had been increased extensively than the cost.

  3. Lastly, he said that HBD and URA are public car parks. The point here lays on the keyword, “public”. They both are government agencies therefore they should put public’s importance in mind everytime they make decisions since Singaporeans pay taxes to the Government for them to manage the country not to fleece the public and increase the profit.

The Ministry replied to his post by saying that the expenses he cited from the annual reports did not include financing, depreciation, and overall operating expenses of carpark management and maintenance.

For details of the increased parking fees, visit URA’s website here.

 

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Current Affairs

TJC issued 3rd POFMA order under Minister K Shanmugam for alleged falsehoods

The Transformative Justice Collective (TJC) was issued its third POFMA correction order on 5 October 2024 under the direction of Minister K Shanmugam for alleged falsehoods about death penalty processes. TJC has rejected the government’s claims, describing POFMA as a tool to suppress dissent.

Published

3 hours ago

on

6 October 2024

By

The Transformative Justice Collective (TJC), an advocacy group opposed to the death penalty, was issued its third Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) correction direction on 5 October 2024.

The correction was ordered by Minister for Home Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam, following TJC’s publication of what the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) alleges to be false information regarding Singapore’s death row procedures and the prosecution of drug trafficking cases.

These statements were made on TJC’s website and across its social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter).

In addition to TJC, civil activist Kokila Annamalai was also issued a correction direction by the minister over posts she made on Facebook and X between 4 and 5 October 2024.

According to MHA, these posts echoed similar views on the death penalty and the legal procedures for drug-related offences, and contained statements that the ministry claims are false concerning the treatment of death row prisoners and the state’s legal responsibilities in drug trafficking cases.

MHA stated that the posts suggested the government schedules and stays executions arbitrarily, without due regard to legal processes, and that the state does not bear the burden of proving drug trafficking charges.

However, these alleged falsehoods are contested by MHA, which maintains that the government strictly follows legal procedures, scheduling executions only after all legal avenues have been exhausted, and that the state always carries the burden of proof in such cases.

In its official release, MHA emphasised, “The prosecution always bears the legal burden of proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and this applies to all criminal offences, including drug trafficking.”

It also pointed to an article on the government fact-checking site Factually to provide further clarification on the issues raised.

As a result of these allegations, both TJC and Annamalai are now required to post correction notices. TJC must display these corrections on its website and social media platforms, while Annamalai is required to carry similar notices on her Facebook and X posts.

TikTok has also been issued a targeted correction direction, requiring the platform to communicate the correction to all Singapore-based users who viewed the related TJC post.

In a statement following the issuance of the correction direction, TJC strongly rejected the government’s claims. The group criticised the POFMA law, calling it a “political weapon used to crush dissent,” and argued that the order was more about the exercise of state power than the pursuit of truth. “We have put up the Correction Directions not because we accept any of what the government asserts, but because of the grossly unjust terms of the POFMA law,” TJC stated.

TJC further argued that the government’s control over Singapore’s media landscape enables it to push pro-death penalty views without opposition. The group also stated that it would not engage in prolonged legal battles over the POFMA correction orders, opting to focus on its abolitionist work instead.

This marks the third time TJC has been subject to a POFMA correction direction in recent months.

The group was previously issued two orders in August 2024 for making similar statements concerning death row prisoners.

In its latest statement, MHA noted that despite being corrected previously, TJC had repeated what the ministry views as falsehoods.

MHA also criticised TJC for presenting the perspective of a convicted drug trafficker without acknowledging the harm caused to victims of drug abuse.

Annamalai, a prominent civil rights activist, is also known for her involvement in various social justice campaigns. She was charged in June 2024 for her participation in a pro-Palestinian procession near the Istana. Her posts, now subject to correction, contained information similar to those presented by TJC regarding death penalty procedures and drug-related cases.

POFMA, which was introduced in 2019, allows the government to issue correction directions when it deems falsehoods are being spread online.

Critics of the law argue that it can be used to suppress dissent, while the government asserts that it is a necessary tool for combating misinformation. The law has been frequently invoked against opposition politicians and activists.

As of October 2024, Minister K Shanmugam has issued 17 POFMA directions, more than any other minister. Shanmugam, who was instrumental in introducing POFMA, is followed by National Development Minister Desmond Lee, who has issued 10 POFMA directions.

Major media outlets, including The Straits Times, Channel News Asia, and Mothership, have covered the POFMA directions. However, as of the time of writing, none have included TJC’s response rejecting the government’s allegations.

Continue Reading

Current Affairs

Hotel Properties Limited suspends trading ahead of Ong Beng Seng’s court hearing

Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), co-founded by Mr Ong Beng Seng, has halted trading ahead of his court appearance today (4 October). The announcement was made by HPL’s company secretary at about 7.45am, citing a pending release of an announcement. Mr Ong faces one charge of abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts and another charge of obstruction of justice. He is due in court at 2.30pm.

Published

2 days ago

on

4 October 2024

By

SINGAPORE: Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), the property and hotel developer co-founded by Mr Ong Beng Seng, has requested a trading halt ahead of the Singapore tycoon’s scheduled court appearance today (4 October) afternoon.

This announcement was made by HPL’s company secretary at approximately 7.45am, stating that the halt was due to a pending release of an announcement.

Mr Ong, who serves as HPL’s managing director and controlling shareholder, faces one charge under Section 165, accused of abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts, as well as one charge of obstruction of justice.

He is set to appear in court at 2.30pm on 4 October.

Ong’s charges stem from his involvement in a high-profile corruption case linked to former Singaporean transport minister S Iswaran.

The 80-year-old businessman was named in Iswaran’s initial graft charges earlier this year.

These charges alleged that Iswaran had corruptly received valuable gifts from Ong, including tickets to the 2022 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix, flights, and a hotel stay in Doha.

These gifts were allegedly provided to advance Ong’s business interests, particularly in securing contracts with the Singapore Tourism Board for the Singapore GP and the ABBA Voyage virtual concert.

Although Iswaran no longer faces the original corruption charges, the prosecution amended them to lesser charges under Section 165.

Iswaran pleaded guilty on 24 September, 2024, to four counts under this section, which covered over S$400,000 worth of gifts, including flight tickets, sports event access, and luxury items like whisky and wines.

Additionally, he faced one count of obstructing justice for repaying Ong for a Doha-Singapore flight shortly before the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) became involved.

On 3 October, Iswaran was sentenced to one year in jail by presiding judge Justice Vincent Hoong.

The prosecution had sought a sentence of six to seven months for all charges, while the defence had asked for a significantly reduced sentence of no more than eight weeks.

Ong, a Malaysian national based in Singapore, was arrested by CPIB in July 2023 and released on bail shortly thereafter. Although no charges were initially filed against him, Ong’s involvement in the case intensified following Iswaran’s guilty plea.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) had earlier indicated that it would soon make a decision regarding Ong’s legal standing, which has now led to the current charges.

According to the statement of facts read during Iswaran’s conviction, Ong’s case came to light as part of a broader investigation into his associates, which revealed Iswaran’s use of Ong’s private jet for a flight from Singapore to Doha in December 2022.

CPIB investigators uncovered the flight manifest and seized the document.

Upon learning that the flight records had been obtained, Ong contacted Iswaran, advising him to arrange for Singapore GP to bill him for the flight.

Iswaran subsequently paid Singapore GP S$5,700 for the Doha-Singapore business class flight in May 2023, forming the basis of his obstruction of justice charge.

Mr Ong is recognised as the figure who brought Formula One to Singapore in 2008, marking the first night race in the sport’s history.

He holds the rights to the Singapore Grand Prix. Iswaran was the chairman of the F1 steering committee and acted as the chief negotiator with Singapore GP on business matters concerning the race.

 

Continue Reading

Trending