One of Milton Friedman's most enduring successes in economic policy has been the idea of pricing cars to enter cities.
Singapore favours the pedestrian more than in most European or US cities.
To buy a car will cost you 9,000 euros just in tax. To drive into town you must pay a congestion charge. The rate of the charge is set depending on the time of the day, so it goes up during the rush hour, as it the picture. (Just after I took the picture someone ran a red light. This must be risky given the authorities heavy fines for social trangressions and use of modern technology).
Getting the driver to pay for the social costs of congestion and pollution makes economic sense. However, drivers everywhere are fairly insensitive to price rises and need cheap public transport to get off the road. The metro in Singapore provides that in spades. It is fast, clean, safe and CHEAP.
There are strict rules on the metro governing both the size of a bicycle you can take on or the maximum size of a child - no longer can you fool the ticket office with baby face looks to get a half fare.
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