How to Compare Parking Charges
ST 28 Jul 2008 front page:
S’pore parking not as costly as in other cities
We should be really thankful. But really?
For dramatic effect, the writer compares Singapore (in a far away 52nd place) to London (in 1st place):
Drivers pay an average of $27.16 for eight hours, far less than the top price of $92.63 in London.
This doesn’t seem as truthful as comparing Singapore with the countries that are, say, from 45th to 60th in place.
The article is written with a slant that might be interpreted by less insightful (or even cynical) readers as:
- Singapore’s parking is actually quite affordable (see the headline)
- Parking prices have much room to grow
- Singapore can become a world-class city if its parking rates match up to the top cities in the world
- Don’t complain so much
The dirty truth is, the earning power of the common man here is way lower than in the other countries listed. That’s why prices have to be kept low, and that’s why this quickly growing disparity between income and cost of living is slowly coming to a boil.
The worrying thing is that this disparity is happening gradually (instead of suddenly, like Malaysia’s fuel price increase or Singapore’s GST increase), so people don’t complain as much as they can’t feel its immediate impact.
Which makes it an issue that the authorities can ignore or brush aside easily.
