New transport road map to be drawn up

business-times.asia1.com.sg (speech), app.mot.gov.sg :

A new road map is being developed to guide Singapore's key land transport developments over the next 10-15 years. Transport Minister Raymond Lim said it is time to take stock of the 1996 White Paper on Land Transport via a comprehensive review, t be undertaken over the next year. The proportion of trips taken on public transport during the morning peak period declined from 67% in 1997 to 63% in 2004. 'The reason for the drop is not because there has been a drop in public transport usage, but simply because we have allowed the car population to increase quite substantially.' His ministry's focus is on the morning peak period, where the target is to increase public transport's current modal share of 63% to at least 70% over the next 10-15 years.

The rail network will be further extended so it is sufficiently comprehensive to serve as the main backbone of the public transport system. The bus system will also be improved through schemes like full-day bus lanes and Quality of Service Standards for buses. Changes are being made to MRT stations and public buses to accommodate the elderly and disabled. Mr Lim hinted at the possibility of new MRT lines in addition to the upcoming Circle Line and Downtown Extension. One source speculated that this could be a reference to a train network serving the Upper Bukit Timah and Eastern Singapore areas.

Asked if Mr Lim's planned initiatives will lead to lower vehicle taxes and higher ERP charges in the short term, motor traders said that would not be a surprise. 'The government's stated direction is to lower ARF and expand ERP to cover more areas but we don't know the time frame,' said Mark Choong, managing director of Borneo Motors Singapore, which distributes Toyota. ERP charges are expected to rise but are unlikely to go up drastically overnight, he said. 'But what is the threshold of pain?' he asked.

- I was also wondering about the question that the MD of Borneo Motors asked. Regarding ERP charges, "what is the threshold of pain?" I have sent feedback earlier, to suggest increasing the ERP charges until actual demand destruction is accomplished and sustained. But, increase to how much?

Empirically, from the "eggs scare" some time back, I observed that demand destruction occurred when prices went above 4-5 times that of the existing level.

Imagine paying $10 for going through a bleeping ERP gantry where the charge is now $2. Next, imagine paying that every morning and evening as you drive along the CTE to the city area to work and back, for an average of 22 working days per month. $88 could have been shrugged off by a car owner, but how about $440? That approaches the monthly instalment payments for some of those cheap Korean cars. That is likely to be more than the monthly petrol bill too. Demand destruction should start to kick in somewhere before this.

Ford posts loss of $5.8 billion

news.yahoo.com :

Ford posted a quarterly loss of $5.8 billion - its largest loss in 14 years - as restructuring charges related to planned job cuts in North America and declining sales of its trucks hampered results. Ford, which is closing 16 plants and cutting up to 45,000 jobs in North America, recorded a net loss of $3.08 per share in the third quarter. The loss was its largest since the first quarter of 1992, when the automaker lost $6.66 billion.

High gasoline prices have caused consumers to shift away from sport utility vehicles and large trucks, which had been areas of relative strength for Ford. Ford is offering buyouts to all of its nearly 75,000 unionized workers to reduce its factory work force by nearly one-half. The automaker also wants to reduce its white-collar U.S. payroll by an additional 10,000 job cuts by the end of March next year.

EU energy efficiency plan tackles buildings, cars

peakoil.com -> today.reuters.co.uk :

The European Commission will push for buildings, cars, power generators and electrical products to be more energy efficient in a plan that aims to cut the 25-nation bloc's energy use by 20% by 2020. The long-awaited action plan lays out a series of ways to reduce consumption in Europe at a time when demand for gas, oil and electricity is growing worldwide.

It said failure to use energy more efficiently would lead to direct costs of more than 100 billion euros ($125 billion) by 2020. The Commission says reducing energy consumption - and building houses and products to be less wasteful - will improve the security of the bloc's energy supply, reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, and boost innovation and technology by spurring industry to design better products.