In This Country, Motorcycle Permits Now Cost More Than Motorcycles

Wobble said:
Cell service is expensive in Ontario but...

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In This Country, Motorcycle Permits Now Cost More Than Motorcycles

Singapore's reputation as one of the world's most expensive cities now extends to one of its cheapest modes of transportation: motorcycles.
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A year of cell service in Ontario is in the ballpark of the cost of a phone.

Singapore permits are for 10 years @~S$100/mo with a bike at ~S$5000. It would be interesting to know insurance rates in Singapore. Many many riders (probably most riders) in Ontario pay more than 20% of the price of the bike in yearly insurance. Looking at one specific line item in a page of costs doesn't tell you a whole lot (other than rising prices hurt lower income the most).
 
This really has nothing to do with motorcycles as it's a vehicle congestion tax designed to limit cars and motorcycle volume in the city.

Note that an entry level car cost is S80,000 for a 10y permit, about 7 times the cost of a motorcycle permit. S$80,000 = about $77,000 CAN. Motorcyclist should be happy their rates are so much lower than car rates.
 
GreyGhost said:
A year of cell service in Ontario is in the ballpark of the cost of a phone.

Singapore permits are for 10 years @~S$100/mo with a bike at ~S$5000. It would be interesting to know insurance rates in Singapore. Many many riders (probably most riders) in Ontario pay more than 20% of the price of the bike in yearly insurance. Looking at one specific line item in a page of costs doesn't tell you a whole lot (other than rising prices hurt lower income the most).
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I have a few Singaporean friends who ride. Mid-30s. They are paying around $550 a year for motorcycle insurance for a big bike (Yamaha Tracer 900). Smaller bikes (150cc) pay as low as $300/year.

So yes, the permit is expensive, but total cost of ownership per month is ~$150. Probably a bit less than most people are paying in Canada. Plus they ride 12 months out of the year. Most people in Canada ride 6-8 months, so the average here is a lot higher if you calculated price per riding month.

And on top of it, the salaries are higher in Singapore, about 25% more than the Canadian average. They're in the top ten of countries in the world according to Gross Net Income. We're 20th.
 
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Probably unrelated and posted some time back, but a city in China wants to ban motorcycles for a different reason. There, bikes are tools not toys and any powered two wheel piece of crap runs the street making the place look like a slum. They want to upgrade their image. Blinged out Harleys would be OK.
 
I had a Pulsar 200 in Singapore for 2 years.
The have a concept called the COE (Certificate of Entitlement) which is issued for set period (5/10y)
That enables you to own and drive a vehicle in that country. The reason behind the COE is because Singapore is a small city country the size roughly of the GTA and a population of 6M. Hence they want to reduce/restrict the number of vehicles on the road at any particular time. The intent is noble, but the application is questionable because there were frequent and long jams on the major highways of the country on my way to and from office.

I paid SG$ 5000 for the COE and 8300 for the bike itself. This was in 2015, when the COE for a car was around 60,000 SG$. By now, I am sure that rate has jumped to 100k.

Lastly, @Lightcycle is correct - Money is not an issue in a country like Singapore. Salaries, especially in IT, are considerably higher, to the order of even 50% if you factor in tax slabs -5% <100k and 8% 100-125k fix rates. So there are many, many cars. Sooner or later, they will have to find another alternative.
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