What did I say about paying more and more?

Here's what's happening: after giving you a token sum called bonus, the government expects you to become a millionaire of sorts overnight (that is only for government and SOME government-related departments. Other private companies may or may not have gotten theirs). They increase anything and everything. Yesterday, news was out about the ERP increase.

While ERP charges increase, the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) Raymond Lim promises better, faster, public transport (bus) routes that are more comfortable . This is in the hope of enticing more to opt for public transport rather than to buy and own a car.

They also announce that there will be a permenant decrease of 15% in road taxes. It might look like a ploy to shut the people up but to me, it is a fair enough deal to take some and put some back. Really though, is it a wise move? For me, I would rather feel the pinch once every half to once a year (when we pay road tax) than to have to be reminded daily that money is going out from our pockets.

Even with these carrots dangling, I find mixed messages being sent to us. I realised I am not the only one. One moment you are telling us that we should cut down on driving and take public transport in order to reduce pollution and save the environment. On the other hand, you tell people that it is ok to go out and buy cars and drive more comfortably on roads.

Why am I so confused? I am a driver too, but now an occasional one. I used to drive down to Orchard Road sometimes, after work, so that I could destress and indulge in some retail therapy (that is also helping to boost economy, right?). Now I don't because the full day ERP charges were implemented there and car park charges have gone up way high. If I had wanted to take the public transport, I would have done so long ago. The only reason for not doing so, is so that I can sit in the comfort of my own car, listen to my type of music, and not have to squeeze with tens of thousands of other people going home from work and the occasional irritants who blast their music from their handphones and/or MP3 players.

I will NOT sell away my car either coz it's my baby (Haha...I know this sounds funny but this has always been my dream car since the Mazda Astina times until it morphed into Mazda 3).

For now, I will just sit on it, till the day when I can find a solution to the issue of whether to own a car or not.