As if high car ownership prices and ever-declining wages weren’t enough, motorists in Singapore are now straddling the edge of a new and protracted oil crisis. With the price of premium unleaded hovering on the wrong side of $1.60 a litre of late, more money spent at the pumps means less for the nicer things in life, like food, clothes and shelter. Or does it?
With a little adjustment and plenty of creativity, some Singaporeans are taking the bull by the horns and keeping spiraling petrol prices from being too much of a dampener on fun and mobility. Some like Murali Nair, a regional operations manager and father of three, even packed up and moved. With car operating costs going up and housing and rental prices heading in the opposite direction, the Nair family decided to beat rising transport costs by forgoing the luxury of two cars and moving into to a bigger, more conveniently located home instead.
Good moves
“Having one less car frees up $2,000 a month,” says Nair. “More importantly, schools, the supermarket, restaurants, the MRT, and the beach are now within a five minute walk of home. So there’re tremendous time savings as well.” The move was also facilitated by Mrs. Nair’s decision to switch to a home-based work arrangement. An ever-rising petrol price was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“With unleaded at over $1.50 a litre, we ended up using the car less anyway,” says Nair. “We used to go out for breakfast on weekend mornings but we’ve since cut down on unnecessary journeys, because it’s not just petrol but parking, food, and unforeseen miscellaneous expenses. These things add up.”
The move has seen the family scrap the two-litre Spacewagon and retain the 1.6 litre Mazda 323. Far from being inconvenienced, the Nairs now wish they’d made the move sooner because their quality of living has taken a step up.
North of the border
Rather than move house, human resources consultant Fiona Goh prefers to cut costs via quick jaunts across the border. Goh says her fortnightly petrol runs to Johor make perfect sense since the trip isn’t only for petrol but for car maintenance, groceries, and catching up with friends. “My working arrangements are flexible and heading across on a weekday morning is not a problem but a pleasure,” she says. Even factoring in toll and gantry fees, Goh maintains the savings are significant. “The price of premium unleaded here is S$1.65 a litre. Across the Causeway, it’s S$0.63 (1.37 ringgit) a litre. That’s a buck saved per litre. You do the math!” She reveals that the cost of labour intensive work in particular, such as car maintenance, waxing, and repairs, prices are also well down on Singapore.
Two wheels
Instead of finding cheaper petrol, some like valuation consultant Alan Cheong, opt to use this resource more efficiently – by trading in four wheels for two. “With a car, you’re looking at $1,000 a month minimum over seven or even 10 years, plus approximately $10 a day in petrol,” he explains. “Add everything up and it’s the equivalent of someone’s monthly salary. It’s also not practical when I was just starting a business. I needed, and still need, to have pricing power over more established competitors and being burdened by that kind of overheads just doesn’t make sense.”
Having been a car owner for the last 10 years, Cheong scrapped his four year-old 1.6 litre Proton Wira last year and bought a Honda Wave runaround for a grand total of $3,000. A move that continues to save him money to this day. “I average about 1,800 to 2,000 km a month so with a car, my petrol bill at today’s prices would be about $350 a month,” says Cheong. “With the bike, it’s $50. And that’s on the high side!” An added bonus for Cheong is that since he was able to pay for the bike in full, he no longer had to suffer the ordeal of handing over a king’s ransom in instalments every month end.
Of course it hasn’t always been clear skies and sunshine for the plucky motorcyclist. “When it rains, I need to postpone appointments,” he admits. “But there’s no other difficulty that can’t be resolved with a little advanced planning.” Of course it helps to be single and not have kids in tow.
2nd story
Wheel Travel
The swamp at the tip of Asia
Fancy a stroll through the swamp this weekend? Rest assured, swamps have come a long way so it’s not as nasty as it sounds, as I found out to my delight at the Tanjung Piai Johor National Park(www.johorpark.com/TanjungPiai/). The national park is located across the border in the district of Pontian and enjoys the distinction of being the southernmost tip of the Asian mainland. Geopolitical significance aside, of far greater interest to visitors will be the area’s natural attractions. Tanjung Piai National Park is bordered by one of the largest mangrove swamps in Asia. Occupying some 526 hectares of coastal mangroves and 400 hectares of intertidal mudflats, the park forms a mangrove corridor that connects two key wetland areas in southwest Johor – the Pulau Kukup Johor National Park and the Sungai Pulai mangrove forest reserve.
Despite its relatively small size, Tanjung Piai is home to an uncharacteristically large variety of flora and fauna. Some 20 species of mangrove and nine mangrove-associated species can be found here. The surrounding mudflats are also a rich food source for residential shorebirds and migratory visitors. No fewer than 41 species of birds have been sighted here, along with a host of mammals and reptiles including otters, fireflies, and tree-climbing, crab-eating macaques. A boardwalk connects the various visitor observation towers within Tanjung Piai and lets visitors get as close as necessary, to the swamp and its residents.
Tanjung Piai was named after the piai raya fern (Acrostichum aureum) that is found in abundance in the surrounding mangrove. Tanjung is Malay for Cape. Recognising the region’s geographical, geological and tourism significance, the Johor State Government declared Tanjung Piai a national park on 12 September 2001.
Facilities at the park are basic and adequate, the way it should be. So don’t expect anything polished or flash. Instead, get there early on weekend mornings and soak in the marvelously tranquil and picturesque surrounds. Operating hours are daily from 8 am to 10 pm. The seafood haven of Kukup is a mere 10-minute drive away and good for lunch after a morning at the swamps.
Getting there:
Take the Second Link and exit at the Gelang Patah turnoff. Follow the signs towards Pontian. At Pontian town, head towards Kukup. The turnoff to Tanjung Piai lies just before the Kukup jetty. The park is situated approximately 70 km from the Tuas checkpoint and the journey by road takes approximately one hour.
Entrance fees to the park are RM5 for adults and RM3 for students between 13 and 21. For RM5 , visitors can purchase a certificate to commemorate their visit.
