At the time of writing, Certificates of Entitlement (COE) prices for big cars have reached a new high this year - with premiums for big cars reaching S$76,000. COEs for small cars rose S$5,823 to S$56,112. The COE, instituted by the government of Singapore since May 1990, is a program designed to limit car ownership and hence the number of vehicles on the country's roads.

A high COE price will dash the hope of some young families of owning a car. A car could be a necessity for a young couple with an infant child in order to ferry the child to a child care centre in the morning before heading to work. Perhaps, a fairer way is to ballot the limited COE instead of bidding for it. A similar concept could be adopted like the way BTO flats are balloted. A first time car buyer could be given 3 chances in the ballot. An existing car owner who is driving a car with a balloted COE for less than 5 years could be given 2 chances and in the same fashion, an existing car owner who is driving a car with a balloted COE for less than 3 years could be given just 1 chance. An existing car owner who has not balloted for a COE for the past 5 years will be treated like a first time car buyer.

The above suggestion could be further refined for implementation. The downside of a balloting system could be a rise in the price of resale cars as people in need of a car urgently may not want to try their luck at balloting. I hope the relevant authority can look into the suggestion. The main purpose of the COE, as highlighted in the first paragraph, is to limit car ownership, unless the COE system has now become a profit centre instead.

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