Cars as a status symbol causing obsession with car ownership

Sustainable transportation in Singapore

Singaporeans tend to associate cars with wealth and status which is a big driver in why people in Singapore wish to own cars despite a very sophisticated public transport system. To ensure the move towards sustainable transportation in Singapore, the mindsets that Singaporeans have about cars being a status symbol needs to be changed. This can be done through the breaking down on stereotypes that all car owners are rich, because this is certainly not true as most all car owners have to take loans in order to be able to even afford a car. Another method might be to make taking public transport more luxurious. These ideas will be explored further into the blog post.

Singaporean public transport is well-maintained and well-run but there are lots of people who do not like being forced to use it. Having a car is a sign of prestige that all Singaporeans aspire for as it is one of the 5cs that Singaporeans seem to associate with success; condo, cash, credit card, and country club. There is a strong aspirational component attached to car ownership that is a culture unique to Singapore. People just want to be looked upon as being better than the average joe and owning car is a way to “prove” one’s success and wealth to his fellow Singaporeans. It’s a very superficial and materialistic but common mindset among Singaporeans that needs to be changed fast. Singaporeans are aware of the traffic jams and rush hour annoyances that come with owning a car, but not many will stop buying cars just to alleviate Singapore’s problems. No Singaporean would refuse to purchase one simply because it doesn't do the environment any good.

Thus there should be other ways to encourage Singaporeans to disassociate owning a car with wealth. One would be to improve the current transport system. This is already being done by the government a can be seen in the new MRT map that can be seen above. The government of Singapore has already put in motion a plan that will make travelling in public transport a lot more convenient by incorporating more train connections and more train networks. However, a suggestion that can be taken into consideration as to how to appeal this new system to the Singaporeans as a way to breakdown the association of cars with wealth is to make travelling in transportation more luxurious by making the seats more comfortable and the interior structured in such a way that commuters feel at home in the train.  Another way to make the public change their mindset is to make driving cars look less attractive. This will aid in weaning people here off cars as the driving experience will be less ideal, the analysts said. People in many cities do not drive because it is a “very painful experience” thus in order to stop so many Singaporeans from aspiring to own cars, we should also endeavor to create barriers that suggest that owning a car is not as luxurious and looked up upon as they thought initially.