Driving is a stressful and tedious task that can be outsourced, freeing up time and mind space to read, chat with a friend, watch Netflix or simply unwind in the backseat. The lifestyle compromises you might end up making for a depreciating asset that you use 5 per cent of the time is not exactly the epitome of freedom.
DRIVING HAS LOST SOME OF ITS STREET CRED
For this reason, I sold my car less than two years after I purchased it, opting for a combination of cabbing and public transport. That was 10 years ago.
We have progressed since. For one, Singapore’s public transport system has levelled up considerably. Today, we have six MRT lines, and are looking to add two new ones – the Jurong Regional Line and the Cross Island Line.
Ride-hailing apps link us to thousands of cars and taxis, redefining our concept of mobility. With shopping apps, food delivery apps and social media apps, we also live, consume and connect differently, reducing the need to travel.
Indeed, it seems that today, the car as a symbol of freedom and personal expression is no longer the zeitgeist of our times. After all, in a world when most people live a large part of their lives on a palm-sized phone, there is less need for something as cumbersome as a 1,500kg car.
Of course, car ownership is not merely about convenience, comfort or other practical reasons. In fact, the high cost of cars in Singapore simply increases its desirability as a symbol of wealth and social status, and for many young Singaporeans, it is the first big purchase that shows that they have “made it”.
However, today when it is possible to Grab an Audi and other luxury vehicles, car ownership is slowly losing some of its prestige as well. News of the entitled behaviour of luxury car owners, such as when a Bentley driver pushed back a security guard at Red Swastika School with his car has also created negative stereotypes of wealthy car owners.