OPC Schemes

Updates.

http://www.asiaone.com/Motoring/Motorworld/Story/A1Story20090818-161813.html

Six months since Govt say they'll tweak off-peak car scheme

By Christopher Tan It has been six months since the Government said it would tweak the off-peak car (OPC) scheme to make it more attractive for people to own cars with restricted hours of usage. The motor industry, OPC owners and would-be owners are not exactly on the edge of their seats. How can the system be made more attractive when the $17,000 tax break accorded to an OPC is tied to an assumed monetary worth of unused hours in a typical car's lifespan? Currently, OPCs can be used from 7pm to 7am on weekdays, and after 3pm on Saturdays, and for the full day on Sundays and public holidays. OPC owners have been clamouring for the hours to be extended, especially on Saturdays. Transport Minister Raymond Lim hinted earlier this year that free use for the whole of Saturday could be possible, but there would be commensurate adjustments to the tax rebate. In other words, no free lunch. Perhaps rightly so, since giving more away would be at some expense to those who pay full taxes for ordinary cars. The Land Transport Authority said it had been conducting "several focus group discussions in recent months with OPC owners" to see how the scheme could be improved. One suggestion that seems viable is to allow the $20 day licence - which OPC users need to buy if they want to drive outside the prescribed hours - to be split into half-day portions. This way, it would be less punitive for those who want to use their OPCs for just a couple of hours more. This would be an enforcement nightmare, though. There are about 45,000 OPCs on the roads today, and close to 1,000 owners a year are booked for violating the restricted usage rules. It would not be unfair to assume that a sizeable number of rule violators are not caught. The physical day licence has to be replaced by a smart high-tech system if OPCs are to proliferate. And it will have to be a completely foolproof system - unlike speed limiters on heavy vehicles. The decade-old speed limiter scheme has proven to be largely ineffective as the devices can easily be tampered with. With a smart system to control the usage of OPCs, perhaps the red number plates that identify such cars will not be needed any more. That will remove the perceived stigma of owning an OPC and make these cars more attractive as an option to those who view a set of wheels as a status symbol. Otherwise, OPCs are unlikely to catch on, at least not in a way big enough to make a meaningful difference to road congestion during peak hours. They currently make up merely 6 per cent of the vehicle population (excluding two-wheelers). With Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices heading north, buying an OPC will become even less attractive as the $17,000 tax break becomes a smaller percentage of the total car price. As one veteran motor trader points out, using a COE to buy an OPC is a waste - especially when the supply of certificates is shrinking drastically. Which is why the authorities must make it more viable for people with ordinary cars to convert their rides to OPCs. Currently, those who convert their normal cars to OPCs can realise their savings only when the time comes for them to scrap their vehicles. Giving cash upfront to converts would make the switch far more palatable. This is under consideration in the OPC review. Then, there is the question of whether the $17,000 tax break accorded to OPCs is meaningful enough in the first place. Bear in mind that an OPC will have less residual value than an ordinary car when it is finally scrapped. This is because the $17,000 rebate is offset against the car's COE and Additional Registration Fee (the main car tax). And a car's scrap rebate is based on these two components. So, owners may not always get to realise the full $17,000 savings. Perhaps the scheme can be made more attractive if the monetary incentive is tangible in other ways, such as zero road tax, free parking in URA/HDB lots, or vouchers to offset insurance premiums or mandatory vehicle inspections. Or perhaps even reduced Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charges. The argument for the last suggestion is this: If more people switch or convert to OPCs, peak-hour congestion will be alleviated. Consequently, traffic will be smoother flowing, thus putting a cap on ERP charges and the need for more gantries. This will benefit motorists at large. Hence, no one should begrudge OPC owners for contributing less to taxes than the ordinary car owner. The question is, can OPCs appeal to the moneyed masses and not largely to marginal car buyers? Yes, and probably in more ways than one. Doing away with the red number plate would be a start.

is opc paying the same road tax as normal?

juansobrangtamad wrote:is opc paying the same road tax as normal?

Nope! we pay $50 for a year...

walau..... but i guess its ok.....
so if opc wants sat morniing usage....
dun ask them to pay more.....
lower the normal roadtax by 20%..... then both sides benefit.... 8)

Here's my posting from the thread "Changes to OPC car scheme soon!"
Mod, maybe we can merge this 2 threads?

jimixer wrote:I accepted the week day restriction from 7am-7pm when
I decided on OPC. But still remain unconvinced on the restriction for
Sat...

The government always need statistics to justify changes...

So
to be fair, LTA should release a statistic on the total number of cars
on Sg roads every hour to justify if Saturday before 3 pm are indeed
peak hours... If the statistic shows otherwise, then Off-Peak Car owners have really been short-changed!

At least this will convince me on the need for Sat restriction before 3 pm...

Definitely, changing the timing on the start time for Sats would be fair, considering that sats are 1/2 days which should end @ 12pm or 1pm latest... then shouldn't the start time for OPC start @ 12 or 1pm too?

Juz my 2 cents...

joepele wrote:Definitely, changing the timing on the start time for Sats would be fair, considering that sats are 1/2 days which should end @ 12pm or 1pm latest... then shouldn't the start time for OPC start @ 12 or 1pm too?

Juz my 2 cents...

seconded!

i agree. we can only use our car after 3pm on sat. more than half a day is gone. and i feel sat should not consider as a peak day

I agree too...damn sianz man wait till 3pm to drive on Sat

Actually, since the govt is promoting family time and lesser time @ work, shouldn't they allow families with OPC drive earlier to "spend" more time with one another?

I find that the writer was correct about the scrap value thing, we don't really enjoy full $17k discount when normal cars receive some scrap value which is some discount albeit variable from car to car.

But with regards to shortening the usage hours I think it will not happen, because some roads are jammed from 6pm till late... ERP on CTE is until 10.30pm and I was so shocked when I was using CTE around 9.30pm thinking it should be free...

I actually second the high-tech approach, and solutions are already available and in use, for one I know HP helped administer a GPS software solution for real-time tracking of cargo trucks in New Zealand. If an OPC is deemed not adding to jams and therefore allowed free usage, this would encourage people to buy cars for the stay home mums for school runs and shopping in the suburban shopping centres. If I didn't have a kid, I wouldn't have bought a car, and this would be where I find the changes most useful for me...