Singapore Wants To Cut Car Population Starting Next Year

Not only is Singapore one of the most expensive places in the world when it comes to overall living costs, it's also well-known for exuberantly high car prices.

Now it seems, it will become even more difficult to purchase an automobile if you happen to live in the city-state, and according to Reuters, the shift will occur in February 2018.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is planning on cutting Singapore's vehicle growth rate from the current 0.25% all the way down to 0% per year, for both cars as well as motorcycles.

One obvious reason for this decision is the city-state's land scarcity and the billions of dollars already invested in planned public transport. Singapore is also one of the most densely populated nations on the planet, with roughly 7,987 people per square km, trailing only Monaco (15,254) and Macau (20,848).

As of last year, no fewer than 600,000 private and rental cars were driving the streets of Singapore, a number that includes cars driven by ride-hailing services, which are gaining in popularity.

Right now, if you want to buy even a small SUV, you'll need to first purchase a special certificate from the government, which can cost as much as 50,000 Singapore dollars ($37,000). As for the SUV, it alone can set you back more than 100,000 Singapore dollars ($74,000), as reported by CNN.

The new 0% yearly growth rate won't be reviewed again until the year 2020.