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Waymo in Singapore

124 points · 160 comments · ramanan

  1. shell0x · · focus · HN ↗
    A basic commuter car costs over S180,000( US135,000) due to a compulsory 10-year quota license (COE/certificate of entitlement) that alone costs S$100,000+, plus registration taxes scaling up to 320% of the car's base value. Total running costs (tolls, parking, road tax) easily add S1,000–S2,000+ per month.

    Singapore is so small though and cabs are cheap and I never needed a car. I can see why Waymo will be very attractive.

    1. vachina · · focus · HN ↗
      If you never needed a car in Singapore then why is the COE so expensive? COE price is determined from a bidding process.
      1. shalmanese · · focus · HN ↗
        A lot of people get a car when they have kids as taking grab with a car seat can be unwieldy. Also, COE wasn’t always $100K, many people are still on legacy COE when it was $30-$50K
        1. normie3000 · · focus · HN ↗
          Are car seats mandatory for children in taxis in Singapore?
          1. immawizard · · focus · HN ↗
            Only for the children you want to keep after car crash.
          2. rossriley · · focus · HN ↗
            For the official taxis they are not, but for ride hailing taxis like Grab/Gojek they are.
          3. eru · · focus · HN ↗
            The rules differ between Grab (our local Uber-lookalike) and traditional taxis.

            They are less strict for the latter.

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