Land of Acronyms
In Singapore, acronyms are used almost anywhere, any time and any place whether in casual communication or in formal speeches. Just to sight some examples, some of the popular acronyms that are really uniquely Singapore are ERP, COE, HDB, MRT, CPF, and the list goes on.
As these acronyms really tell the way of life in Singapore, hence in my opinion, one of the best way to know Singapore is to first understand the acronyms used. Take a look at the funny video clip (Jonathan Atherton : AIS: Acronyms in Singapore), you'll understand what I mean.
Continue read on to find out more in this len...
New Table of Contents
- What is ERP?
- ERP also means "Every Road Pay"
- COE - reason why it is expensive to drive in Singapore
- Get a Singapore Streets Guide
- My Photo Gallery of Singapore
- HDB - place where most Singaporeans live
- How to afford such an expensive apartment (Answer: CPF)
- Get to know Singapore -CLOSER
- Own a piece of Singapore Art
- My Other Lenses
- Please leave a note on my Guestbook. Thanks!
What is ERP?
ERP shorts for Electronic Road Pricing. It is an electronic system of road pricing based on a pay-as-you-use principle. It is implemented by Singapore government in order to control the flow of traffics into CBD (Central Business District) during peak hours.
The way it works is that every registered vehicle in Singapore are installed with a short-range radio communication device (DSRC) called the in-vehicle Unit (IU) which have a smart card slot for insertion of cash value card (called CashCard). And, as the vehicle passes through the ERP gantry (as shown in the picture), which is also equipped with the DSRC system, the road entry charge will be deducted accordingly.
The charge rate varies from SG$ 0.50 - 2.00 per entry depending on points of entry and time of entry. Check out the ERP gantries locations and charge rate @ http://www.singeo.com.sg/?p=180
ERP also means "Every Road Pay"
And some of them even make fun of the system as shown in the interesting YouTube below. However, its humor might be a bit difficult for non-Singapore residents to understand
COE - reason why it is expensive to drive in Singapore
Besides the car loan, you need to calculate the cost of getting a COE, paying for ERP charges, car parks, gas and insurance. Among these cost elements, COE is the most substantial one.
What is COE?
COE is the acronym for Certificate of Entitlement for vehicle in Singapore. The COE will entitle your registered vehicle to be on the road for 10 years. COEs are issued on the month basis by the Land Transport Authority.
COE is a mean the government here used to control the population of cars in Singapore. The monthly COE bidding mechanism functions very much like stock market, depending on the Demand and Supply conditions, the COE price will fluctuate accordingly. Car buyers normally don't bid for the COEs directly, it is normally done by the car dealers.
The COE price don't come cheap, it can go as high as SG$20,000 - $30,000. However, on certain low demand months (e.g. Nov'08) it can go as low as $2 for 1600cc and below cars.
Check out http://www.sgcarmart.com/news/writeup.php?AID=70 to see the latest COE bidding results
Get a Singapore Streets Guide
My Photo Gallery of Singapore
HDB - place where most Singaporeans live
Over 90% of Singaporeans live in "HDB flats". You must be wondering what is "HDB flats". Acronyms again!!!
HDB shorts for Housing Development Board, "HDB flats" means flats or apartments built by the Housing Development Board, the public housing authority of Singapore.
HDB flats have come a long way. Starting from early 70s, due to the country's land limitation and facing with the growing population, instead of growing "horizontally", the government here learned from Hong Kong during then, started to build and house the nations "vertically" in these apartments.
Most commonly, HDB flats are built in 3 different types, they are 3-room, 4-room and 5-room flats. They are quite small in sizes.
3-room flat ranges from 600 - 700 square feet,
4-room flat ranges from 900 - 1100 square feet, and
5-room flat ranges from 1200 - 1400 square feet
Check out how the interior of the HDB apartment look like HERE
“Though a 3-room apartment = size of a master bedroom in US, it could be as expensive as US$170,000”
How to afford such an expensive apartment (Answer: CPF)
In Singapore, there is something called CPF (Central Provident Fund).
Note: As it will take a few minute to explain what is CPF, hence, I'll rather leave it to the expert. If you are interested check it out @ www.cpf.gov.sg
Get to know Singapore -CLOSER
Singapore is a small Island country in Southeast Asia with the size that is slightly more than 3.5 times the size of Washington, D.C.? It is located about 137 kilometers (85 miles) north of the Equator with the average daytime temperature of 86°F (30°C).What is your impression of Singapore? Green, Cosmopolitan and gateway to the other Southeast Asia countries? I believe this is the way most of the people think of Singapore.
In this len, I would like to share some insider's information on "What you don't know about Singapore". If you are visiting this interesting country soon, I hope this len will give you some pointers on the what to do/eat and where to visit in order to make you visit more memorable
Find out @ http://www.squidoo.com/finesingapore
Own a piece of Singapore Art
My Other Lenses
Please leave a note on my Guestbook. Thanks!
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giaphathousing
Nov 30, 2011 @ 9:42 pm | delete
- Hanoi Real Estate Agency
http://giaphathousing.com
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MissMissylue
Jan 14, 2009 @ 5:51 am | delete
- Thank you for this informative lens. I really enjoyed the photos of Singapore and the information on housing as well.
Missy
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