You know I’ve been getting this question a lot lately from colleagues and friends – “Why don’t you get a car?” In fact, over the course of two days, I’ve been asked by this question by three different persons. I attribute this increased interest to the nature of my job which requires me to travel around quite a bit. I’ve actually written on this topic before but since I’m a working adult now, whether to buy a car has become a decision I eventually have to make. 5 years on from my last post on car ownership, I still hold the same belief and below, I surmise a handful of reasons why car ownership has never crossed my mind.

First, the financial cost of car ownership. Owning a car in Singapore doesn’t make much financial sense. We live in one of the most expensive places in the world where on top of the exorbitant sum we pay for the car, we have to fork out tens of thousands more for a piece of paper that ‘entitles’ us to be on the road with it. Furthermore, after the purchase, we continue paying through our noses on car loan repayments, road tax, vehicle maintenance, parking fees, fuel, fines, etc. Yet think about it, ‘car ownership’ is an oxymoron in Singapore. We don’t actually get to own the car; keeping it in tip-top condition doesn’t equate to us being able to continue driving it indefinitely. Instead, we have to pay for a new car when the entitlement expires.

Second, the public transport network. Yes, the Singapore public transportation system may not be seeing the best of times in recent years, but it certainly isn’t in dire straits. With one of the most extensive public transport networks in the world for our size, a trip from one end of the island to the other rarely takes more than two hours, which is pretty fast by global standards. Although the reliability of the system today is nothing much to laud about, it’s still pretty darn dependable that more than half our population can still rely on it to travel around daily. And if the buses and trains can’t get us to where we want quick enough, there’re always cabs or rental cars for that one or two occasions when their need is necessitated.

Third, the true utility of car ownership, or the lack thereof. The people who don’t own cars have to spend more time travelling, be packed like sardines in cabins, or even be labelled as ‘poor’ as suggested by a certain expat. But think about the things that we can do legally while someone ‘chauffeurs’ us around – using our mobiles, check; putting on makeup, check; catching forty winks, check – and the things we don’t have to personally put up with – experiencing road rage, check; finding parking lots, check; dealing with bad drivers, check and mate. At the end of the day, the car is a depreciable asset; a tool we use to get from point A to B though car enthusiasts would say otherwise. Before committing to a car purchase, we have to consider whether we can spare hundreds of thousands in income over the lifespan of the car or if we’re able to get by on public or alternative transportation.

To me and most people I dare say, a car is a want, a lifestyle choice in Singapore. Our island is not a very big one, so to put forth the travelling time argument is invalid. Unless the profession requires it – a medical doctor in the ER department who needs a vehicle to quickly respond to emergency situations. The family argument is equally flimsy. I grew up in a family without a car and I don’t think I turned out half as bad. Moreover, this point-of-view is increasingly irrelevant with the well-connectedness of our public transport network. Again, perhaps only under exceptional circumstances – the frequent need to ferry family elders who have difficulty walking to medical follow-ups – can car ownership be justified, but I don’t think the majority of car owners fall into that category either.

Boldly put, a car is a status symbol more than anything else here in Singapore. It exemplifies the car owner’s status as someone who has made it in society. That’s not to say that everyone who buys a car do it with the sole purpose of flaunting their wealth, but it definitely exists as an after-thought. In all honesty and fairness though, I’m not against car ownership. If you can afford a car without compromising on other aspects of your life, then by all means, go ahead and buy one. I just don’t believe that you have to own a car to get by in Singapore.