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As incomes rose and car ownership increased, these measures were progressively tightened.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In 2009, for instance, the allowable vehicle growth rate was halved to 1.5 per cent, as policymakers sought to rein in car numbers and encourage a shift towards public transport.<\/span><\/p>\n This came against the backdrop of a decline in public transport ridership in the early 2000s, which was attributed in part to rising car ownership.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But as car growth slowed and investments in public transport increased, ridership rebounded strongly, rising by about 60 per cent between 2005 and 2014 to 6.65 million trips a day.<\/span><\/p>\n By 2014, it had become clear that managing car growth alone was not enough. The authorities recognised the need for a new approach to urban mobility, culminating in the launch of the Singapore Sustainability Blueprint in November that year.<\/span><\/p>\n “We will aim for a ‘car-lite Singapore’ by promoting and developing other modes of transport, making them more convenient,” then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at the launch.<\/span><\/p>\n “We also have to promote non-usage of cars and find ways to use them more efficiently, so that we can use the car without feeling like we have to own a car.”<\/span><\/p>\n At the heart of the blueprint was a push to make public transport the preferred choice, through improvements to its convenience and connectivity, including expanded rail networks, more buses and better links to train stations.<\/span><\/p>\n Transport analysts noted that this investment in public transport has become more aggressive in recent years.<\/p>\n “What we are seeing is an acceleration of this push,” Mr Menon said, pointing to improvements such as more bicycle parking, new car-lite developments in new towns such as Tengah<\/a>, as well as moves to reclaim road space for other users, such as along Bras Basah Road and Connaught Drive.<\/p>\n Other experts noted how parking provisions are also being reduced to prioritise public transport and free up spaces for the community.\u00a0LTA has said that these will be implemented in upcoming estates such as Bayshore and Ulu Pandan, which have been gazetted as car-lite areas.\u00a0<\/p>\nWHAT THE CAR-LITE STRATEGY HAS ACHIEVED<\/h2>\n