“The road is meant for all motorised and non-motorised vehicles,” said transport consultant Gopinath Menon, noting that between the 1950s and 1970s, cyclists commonly used the roads in Singapore, co-existing with other vehicles.
“Over time, the number of cars on the roads increased. The public transport improved and hence the number of cyclists reduced,” said the former LTA planner.
“There is nothing to prevent cyclists from using the roads, but many do not feel safe because motorists are no longer used to having bicycles co-sharing as they were in the past.”
While a common grouse among motorists is that cyclists have less of a right to the roads as they do not pay road tax, this is a misconception, said Singapore Road Safety Council chairman Bernard Tay.
Roads are built and maintained using public funds, he noted, meaning all taxpayers pay for roads - not just motorists.
Road tax in Singapore is an “ownership tax” on motor vehicles, as noted on the Transport Ministry’s website. This is based on the engine capacity of the car, which acts as a proxy for the value of the car, the ministry stated.
This is further borne out by a statement by LTA in 2013, which clarified that public roads are “built and maintained using public funds collected from general taxes, including those who do not use motorised vehicles”, and are meant for use by all road users, including cyclists and pedestrians.
“So everybody has the right to use the space, use the infrastructure,” said Mr Tay, who is also president of the Automobile Association of Singapore.
