Eyesight and vehicle costs are major concerns for seniors who drive.

Synopsis: Every 3rd Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times examines not just vehicle prices but wider transport issues and trends connected to public and private transport.

Mr Danny Yeo has been driving since 1974. The 75-year-old has no issues passing the medical check-up required to maintain his licence. Still, the freelance actor thinks that he would probably hang up his car keys when he turns 85 as he expects his reflexes to decline. He said among his peers, failing eyesight is the most common reason for them to stop driving, as is the cost of keeping a car, which has been rising together with the high certificate of entitlement (COE) premiums.

Highlights (click/tap above): 

2:38 He paid $5,000 for used Fiat in 1974

5:42 The medical check-up needed every three years to revalidate the licence for drivers aged 65 and above

8:03 Listen to your body - don't just depend on medical checkups

10:50 A driving test for seniors above 70 to ensure that they are fit to drive?

19:00 If you have issues that make driving dangerous, stop for the sake of other drivers and pedestrians.

Read Lee Nian Tjoe's articles: https://str.sg/wt8G

Follow Lee Nian Tjoe on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/iqkJ

Read more COE articles: https://str.sg/iGKC

Host: Lee Nian Tjoe ([email protected])

Produced & edited by: Amirul Karim

Executive producers: Ernest Luis and Lynda Hong

Follow Wheel Insights Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:

Channel: https://str.sg/iTtE

Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/iqW2

Spotify: https://str.sg/iqgB

Feedback to: [email protected]

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Forget “car-lite”, go for “car-free”, an SUTD prof makes the case for drivers to hang up their keys. 

Synopsis: Every 3rd Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times examines not just vehicle prices but wider transport issues and trends connected to public and private transport.

It turned out that capping fares for seniors can be a way to urge older Singaporeans to not only stay mobile, but also ditch their cars for public transport. Dr Samuel Chng, research assistant professor at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, believes that Singapore has the potential to be “car-free”. 

Also head of SUTD's Urban Psychology Lab in the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities, Dr Chng sees a future where autonomous vehicles can fill in the gaps left by existing public transport modes. 

Highlights (click/tap above):

7:42 Journey from fewer cars towards car-free 

12:50 The shock of not being on public transport in decades

20:33 The opportune time to intervene and form new transport habits

24:34 The role of walk, cycle and ride in the overall transport system

28:59 Driverless technology as a solution for late-night hunger pangs

Read Lee Nian Tjoe's articles: https://str.sg/wt8G

Follow Lee Nian Tjoe on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/iqkJ

Read more COE articles: https://str.sg/iGKC

Host: Lee Nian Tjoe ([email protected])

Produced & edited by: Amirul Karim and Hadyu Rahim

Executive producers: Ernest Luis and Lynda Hong

Follow Wheel Insights Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:

Channel: https://str.sg/iTtE

Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/iqW2

Spotify: https://str.sg/iqgB

Feedback to: [email protected]

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All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa

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From keen pricing to guaranteeing the resale value of its electric vehicle, BYD is bent on staying on top.

Synopsis: Every 3rd Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times examines not just vehicle prices but wider transport issues and trends connected to public and private transport.

BYD has been in Singapore for more than a decade before it became the country’s biggest selling car brand among authorised distributors. Mr James Ng, the managing director for Singapore and the Philippines, is doubling down on efforts to ensure that BYD extends its lead, not just for passenger cars, but also for public buses and commercial vehicles. 

Highlights (click/tap above): 

2:44 BYD, the same company that made surgical masks during the Covid-19 pandemic

8:44 Eyes a fourth dealer to grow its retail network

14:00 Dealers are free to be creative with their services, but BYD prices are fixed

32:44 We will definitely not be starting a taxi company

34:41 Unsurprising if EV adoption comes up to 50 per cent in 2025

Read Lee Nian Tjoe's articles: https://str.sg/wt8G

Follow Lee Nian Tjoe on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/iqkJ

Read more COE articles: https://str.sg/iGKC

Host: Lee Nian Tjoe ([email protected])

Produced & edited by: Amirul Karim and Eden Soh

Executive producers: Ernest Luis and Lynda Hong

Follow Wheel Insights Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:

Channel: https://str.sg/iTtE

Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/iqW2

Spotify: https://str.sg/iqgB

Feedback to: [email protected]

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ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

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From parents of newborns to riders who dismantle their motorcycles to evade repossession, this man has seen them all.

Synopsis: Every 3rd Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times examines not just vehicle prices but wider transport issues and trends connected to public and private transport.

What happens when a hire-purchase car goes missing or when a marriage turns sour and the fighting parties want their assets back? They call on repossessors like Mr Jim Koh, who has been in the repossession-cum-towing trade for nearly 20 years.

Highlights (click/tap above): 

2:31 The difference between a towing service and repossessing a vehicle

5:10 Repossessing a vehicle can turn nasty

14:41 Job hazards of being run over or pelted with eggs

21:54 When Jim is compassionate when repossessing vehicles

27:39 Advice for those looking to join the trade

Read Lee Nian Tjoe's articles: https://str.sg/wt8G

Follow Lee Nian Tjoe on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/iqkJ

Read more COE articles: https://str.sg/iGKC

Host: Lee Nian Tjoe ([email protected])

Produced & edited by: Amirul Karim

Executive producers: Ernest Luis and Lynda Hong

Follow Wheel Insights Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:

Channel: https://str.sg/iTtE

Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/iqW2

Spotify: https://str.sg/iqgB

Feedback to: [email protected]

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All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

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“Money not enough” - not even raising fares can fix current school bus woes.

Synopsis: Every 3rd Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times examines not just vehicle prices but wider transport issues and trends connected to public and private transport.

School bus fares are constantly rising, and yet operators are saying that ferrying pupils to schools is a loss-making venture with little way out. Mr Darry Lim, 44, who grew his father’s bus company from eight to 38 buses, says that the troubles facing the industry are only worsening as a sizeable number of local drivers are leaving the trade every year. 

Darry is the director of Hui Leong, a private transport company and serves as the transport officer of the Singapore School Transport Association which represents mainly self-employed school bus drivers.

Highlights (click/tap above): 

2:21 More drivers than buses are needed

4:11 Shrinking local driver population also means a cut in foreign drivers because of the allowable foreign worker quota, worsening the situation

7:05 A driver’s typical working day start at 5.30am to pick up the first pupil

15:40 The international school student chips in

19:15 “I might be dead before I can pay off the bus!”

Read Lee Nian Tjoe's articles: https://str.sg/wt8G

Follow Lee Nian Tjoe on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/iqkJ

Read more Transport articles: https://str.sg/KHyM

Host: Lee Nian Tjoe ([email protected])

Produced & edited by: Amirul Karim

Executive producers: Ernest Luis and Lynda Hong

Follow Wheel Insights Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:

Channel: https://str.sg/iTtE

Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/iqW2

Spotify: https://str.sg/iqgB

Feedback to: [email protected]

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All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

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Improve your chances of getting a ride on a wet Friday evening with some hacks from this experienced cabbie.

Synopsis: Every 3rd Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times examines not just vehicle prices but wider transport issues and trends connected to public and private transport.

Mr James Quak is among the 89,000 qualified taxi drivers in Singapore. In this episode of Wheel Insights, the 49-year-old sheds light on how taxi drivers work out their share of the vehicle rental and how they decide which ride booking to take. 

Highlights (click/tap above):

2:35 The difference between being a taxi hirer and a “relief driver”

5:41 How much driving time makes up for daily taxi rental 

13:59 Why taxi drivers don't look out for street-hailers

17:46 How much taxi drivers benefited during the East-West Line MRT disruption in September 2024

23:01 The reason why taxi drivers always seems to be changing shift during peak travel hours

25:39 Advice for those considering joining the trade

Read Lee Nian Tjoe's articles: https://str.sg/wt8G

Follow Lee Nian Tjoe on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/iqkJ

Read more Transport articles: https://str.sg/KHyM

Host: Lee Nian Tjoe ([email protected])

Produced & edited by: Amirul Karim

Executive producers: Ernest Luis and Lynda Hong

Follow Wheel Insights Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:

Channel: https://str.sg/iTtE

Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/iqW2

Spotify: https://str.sg/iqgB

Feedback to: [email protected]

---

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All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa

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Technology is advancing at such a pace as Chinese electric vehicle brand Xpeng is aiming to prove to the global market.

Synopsis: In this special episode, The Straits Times' Lee Nian Tjoe meets Mr He Xiaopeng, the chairman and chief executive of Chinese electric vehicle brand, Xpeng.

By 2025, Xpeng cars will bring the driver from door-to-door with barely any human intervention and in 2026, it plans to deliver its first flying vehicle. 

Xpeng is using automated driving technology to make driving safer and more relaxing.

The target, Mr He says, is to make the cars behave like “good drivers” on the road, adapt to local conditions and behaviours.

Concurrently, the company is taking to the skies. Its first flying vehicle will reach customers in 2026. 

Highlights (click/tap above):

2:55 By 2025, Xpeng’s drivers will only need to step in to take control once or twice per 100km covered

3:45 Level 5 autonomous driving means that the vehicle can handle itself in all conditions, whether it is a typhoon or an earthquake

5:25 Automated driving technology does not mean drivers will lose their jobs

7:00 Flying cars? 

8:46 How Xpeng picks its markets and goes about entering them

9:35 On why only a minority of car companies in China today will survive in the next five to 10 years

Read Lee Nian Tjoe's articles: https://str.sg/wt8G

Follow Lee Nian Tjoe on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/iqkJ

Read more COE articles: https://str.sg/iGKC

Host: Lee Nian Tjoe ([email protected])

Produced & edited by: Amirul Karim and Teo Tong Kai

Executive producers: Ernest Luis and Lynda Hong

Follow COE Watch Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:

Channel: https://str.sg/iTtE

Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/iqW2

Spotify: https://str.sg/iqgB

Feedback to: [email protected]

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All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

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A university professor says his students are not keen on owning a car, while a motor industry expert says that they would, if cars were affordable. 

Synopsis: Every third Tuesday of the month, The Straits Times offers expert insights on new vehicles or transportation trends.

In this episode, COE Watch host Lee Nian Tjoe invites Associate Professor Raymond Ong from the National University of Singapore, who wrote an opinion piece published in The Straits Times in August which said that the current price of certificate of entitlement (COE) needed to register a mass-market car is more affordable to households in Singapore today than it was in 2013. His other guest is motor trader-turned-consultant Say Kwee Neng.

Highlights (click/tap above):

6:15 The reality at the showrooms, where the age of car buyers has changed from 10 years ago 

12:05 Car-leasing firms for private hire have changed the game in the demand for COEs

26:20 The danger of the sense of defeatism in youths when cost of a car has reached far beyond their means

35:00 COE and car taxes in deterring ownership "have past a use-by date"

42:00 How much to pay under a distance-based road pricing system or a satellite-based system?

Read Assoc Prof Ong's article for ST: https://str.sg/yKAg

Read Lee Nian Tjoe's articles: https://str.sg/wt8G

Follow Lee Nian Tjoe on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/iqkJ

Read more COE articles: https://str.sg/iGKC

Produced by: Lee Nian Tjoe ([email protected]), Ernest Luis and Teo Tong Kai

Edited by: Teo Tong Kai

Follow COE Watch Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:

Channel: https://str.sg/iTtE

Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/iqW2

Spotify: https://str.sg/iqgB

Feedback to: [email protected]

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Follow more ST podcast channels:

All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

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A motor industry expert connects popular culture to the success of Chinese car brands in Singapore.

Synopsis: Every third Tuesday of the month, The Straits Times offers expert insights on new vehicles or transportation trends.

BYD is leading the sales chart in Singapore and other Chinese car brands are also making their way here. In a market where the total number of vehicle registrations is capped, the success of the newcomers comes at the cost of incumbent players.

Dr Victor Kwan, who was in the motor trade for more than 20 years before joining academia, explains what is driving this trend and whether it is sustainable.

Highlights (click/tap above):

6:15 The reason for the appearance of so many new Chinese car brands in Singapore

8:20 What BYD Is doing right

22:00 The pressure to develop the charging infrastructure to spur the desire for electric cars

24:50 What dealers think about when deciding to bring in a car brand

38:00 Chinese car brands are here to stay

Read Lee Nian Tjoe's articles: https://str.sg/wt8G

Follow Lee Nian Tjoe on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/iqkJ

Read more COE articles: https://str.sg/iGKC

Produced by: Lee Nian Tjoe ([email protected]), Ernest Luis and Teo Tong Kai

Edited by: Teo Tong Kai

Follow COE Watch Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:

Channel: https://str.sg/iTtE

Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/iqW2

Spotify: https://str.sg/iqgB

Feedback to: [email protected]

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Follow more ST podcast channels:

All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa

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From the evolution of MRT lines to buses, wider cycling paths and committing to being “car-lite”, our veteran transport reporter tells all. 

Synopsis: The Straits Times offers expert insights if you are in the market for a new vehicle or are tracking transportation trends.

In the second part of the conversation, COE Watch host Lee Nian Tjoe hosts long-time senior transport correspondent at The Straits Times - Christopher Tan - to talk about how he got into journalism, and what has been driving him all these years.

Highlights (click/tap above):

2:00 On how Chris Tan once found out how much it cost to build the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway

5:30 Chris recalls when he first raised the idea of the bus contracting model way before it was started, to help raise service levels 

7:00 Debates on building a new MRT line: Why the Rail Financing Framework is good for the overall network

9:00 “Build ‘em and they will come”; positive knock-on effects

14:00 Why it is fair for Singaporeans to expect more from the public transport system

17:37 Christopher Tan retiring from full-time work end-July 2024; his plans

Listen to Pt 1 of Lee Nian Tjoe's conversation with Chris Tan here: https://str.sg/3EEQd

Read Lee Nian Tjoe's articles: https://str.sg/wt8G

Follow Lee Nian Tjoe on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/iqkJ

Read Christopher Tan's articles: https://str.sg/ohcVq

Read more COE articles: https://str.sg/iGKC

Produced by: Lee Nian Tjoe ([email protected]), Ernest Luis, Hana Chen and Teo Tong Kai

Edited by: Fa’izah Sani

Follow COE Watch Podcast here:

Channel: https://str.sg/iTtE

Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/iqW2

Spotify: https://str.sg/iqgB

Feedback to: [email protected]

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Follow more ST podcast channels:

All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

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The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB

Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX

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