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SINGAPORE: Singapore's annual vehicle population growth rate will be slashed to 0.5 per cent from the current 1.5 per cent by August next year. But the reduction will be done gradually. The measure to manage road use effectively was also spelt out in the Transport Ministry's addendum to the President's Address. In recent years, Singapore's roads grew at an average of 1 per cent. This will slow down to 0.5 per cent over the next decade. As such, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said it's not sustainable to maintain the vehicle growth rate at 1.5 per cent. So cuts will be introduced gradually. The current 1.5 per cent rate will be maintained for the period February to July next year, before the 0.5 per cent rate kicks in in August. This will hold till January 2015. This means the overall growth rate next year will still work out to 1 per cent. Industry players tell Channel NewsAsia that with the rate kept at 1.5 per cent from February to July 2012, the overall quota for Certificate of Entitlement (COE) is likely to increase by 10 per cent. This works out to some 4,000 quotas every month. But the increase is likely to be offset in the next quota period, between August 2012 and January 2013. Others are expecting a smaller COE quota that could push prices up. Michael Wong, Vice-President of Motor Traders Association, said: "If the assumption is that scrappage in the second half is going to be more than the first half, fine; I think the scrappage will try and balance out whatever that we've lost on the population growth. But if the scrappage is lower than what was in the first half, then overall in total, the net COE amount will become less. "So if the economic situation stays as it is without major impact from the outside environment and if the interest rates stay as it is now, then that smaller quota will translate into a higher COE price. In his Facebook post earlier on Friday, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said it's likely there will be higher quota numbers from 2013, if the de-registration trends remain stable. An analyst described the cuts in vehicle growth rates as aggressive, a move that will eventually lead to fewer cars on the road. Lee Der-Horng, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, NUS, said: "The major agenda behind is still that, we'll like to see fewer vehicles on the road... I personally will expect the overall vehicle population to come down, maybe in three to five years' time, starting from August 2012." As for Electronic Road Pricing (ERP), the ministry said there is scope to fine-tune applications, where trips are predominantly home-bound, and some congestion is tolerable. Observers said this could refer to gantries along the Central Expressway (CTE) and East Coast Parkway (ECP). Mr Lui said the cornerstone of the land transport policy is to develop an efficient and reliable public transport system. To achieve that, a five-year action plan is in the works to improve bus connectivity, service and capacity. Major bus stops will be upgraded while more bus priority measures can be expected. There will also be more integrated transport hubs to enhance bus-rail transfers and cycling-friendly facilities at transport nodes. Some 8 in 10 bus services will also be wheel-chair friendly to better cater to the elderly and disabled. To keep transport fares affordable, the Public Transport Fare Adjustment Formula will also be reviewed. The ministry said it's also reviewing rail and bus financing frameworks to keep fares affordable, even as services improve. As for maritime and air links, the ministry says it will create a pro-business environment to grow these sectors. Separately, to tackle pollution, there will also be new schemes to encourage the take-up of low-emission vehicles.