Cutting public transport travel times will create virtuous circle: Minister

This is a key reason why public transit travel times can be two to three times longer than a private car ride in some cases.

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Mr Siow aims to halve that gap.

Reducing public transport travel times to the city will create a virtuous circle, he said. "Once you do that, the demand for private transport would be more balanced... public transport would be more viable and attractive, and we should put our focus on that."

Calling self-driving technology a "game changer", Mr Siow said that if autonomous vehicles become a reality here, the dynamics of driving could shift considerably.

"It may make less sense for you to drive your own car," he added.

Mr Siow said this will have "interesting implications" for how Singapore approaches private vehicle ownership, and, by extension, the certificate of entitlement system. "That's maybe a further bit down the road, but I think it is worth really thinking about it."