COE

COEs are at record prices, and many are upset. But vehicles are becoming more than just a luxury item- they are also a business investment.

This is something that the Singapore government has not yet accounted for — a time when vehicles are a means of production on a wide-scale. It also means that for many of the workers who rely on deliveries and private-ride hires for their income, their vehicles are a means of production. Given that there is a rising class of delivery riders and private hire drivers, it is an appropriate time to consider concrete solutions to age-old problems, before they become too severe to deal with. The multitude of complaints that have been aired recently about high COE prices are not unfounded, and something should be done. The COE system will therefore remain functional and serve the purpose of limiting Singapore’s vehicle population without necessarily making it any more confusing. These groups are not the only ones that rely on vehicles to survive. This can reduce the amount of spillover into the private car market. In this sense, cars for them are not really a luxury item. After all, rising COE prices are not exactly an ideal situation for many who need their own vehicles (think families with children, pet owners, and the likes). Primarily, only similar entities should be bidding against each other. Nevertheless, the public’s concern is not completely unfounded. After all, COE price records have been broken twice in a matter of months.