New: You can now listen to articles.SINGAPORE: It is “unlikely” that car-leasing companies, which bid for vehicles that are then leased out as private-hire cars, are the main factor for the increase in Certificate of Entitlement prices, said Acting Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat on Monday .
Like taxis, the quota for this new category would have to be drawn from existing categories, given Singapore’s zero-growth policy, he said. Nonetheless, Mr Chee on Monday said the government would study the possibility of “further options beyond COE bidding” to address these concerns with car-leasing companies. It recognises that private hire cars"do travel longer distances on our roads but they also serve an important function in providing P2P services for Singaporeans”.
Addressing MP Saktiandi Supaat’s concerns over speculative demand, including by dealers, Mr Chee noted that it is “typically not in the interests of dealers to bid higher than what is necessary to win the bid”.