Enhancements for the OPC scheme

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has completed its review of the Off-Peak Car (OPC) scheme and will be implementing the following three initiatives to enhance the OPC scheme:

(a) e-Day Licence to replace the current paper licence, which offers greater flexibility with more channels for purchase and post usage payment.

(b) Revisions to the OPC scheme to allow unrestricted usage on Saturdays and on the eves of 5 public holidays

(c) Cash Rebates for conversion of normal cars to the new OPC scheme - up to $1,100 for every six months' registration as an OPC.

These new initiatives follow Minister for Transport, Mr Raymond Lim, who made an announcement - on 12 February 2009 - the LTA would study how to make the OPC scheme more convenient and attractive so as to encourage more car owners to opt into the scheme. These enhancements are the result of extensive consultations with various groups, including existing OPC owners.

e-Day Licence

From 23 November 2009, the electronic day licence (e-Day Licence) will replace the existing paper supplementary licence when the OPC is used during the restricted hours. The new e-Day Licences can be bought online via ONE.MOTORING portal, AXS stations and using mobile-SMS service, in addition to Singapore Post outlets and Automobile Association of Singapore (AAS) offices. The new channels of purchase give OPC users the added flexibility of making purchases anytime between 6am and midnight daily.

Besides the benefits of extended hours and more alternative channels of purchase, motorists now have the option of buying the e-Day Licence after using the OPC during restricted hours, as long as they do so before 2359 hours the next day. Currently, the paper licence must be purchased before the use of the vehicle.

With the e-Day Licence, OPC drivers no longer need to be inconvenienced by LTA's enforcement officers stopping their vehicles to check for a valid paper licence. LTA's enforcement officers will instead note down the vehicle registration number of the OPC and subsequently verify against the system records if a valid e-Day Licence had been purchased for the car, for that particular day.

LTA will be sending to all existing OPC owners a notification letter and an accompanying guide book on the e-Day Licence system by September 2009. Information on the e-Day Licence system will also be made available on the portal www.onemotoring.com.sg from 1st September 2009 onwards.

Revised OPC Scheme

The existing OPC scheme is such that owners of OPCs will have to display a supplementary licence (or purchase an e-Day Licence come 23rd November 2009) if they wish to drive their OPC between 7am and 3pm on Saturdays. By end January 2010, the OPC scheme will be revised to allow unrestricted usage on Saturdays and the eves of 5 public holidays - namely the New Year, Lunar New Year, Hari Raya Puasa, Deepavali and Christmas.

Existing OPC owners can choose to opt into this revised scheme to enjoy the extended hours in exchange for reduced tax discounts and an administrative fee of $100.

With the extended usage, the annual road tax discount will be correspondingly reduced from $800 to $500. The minimum annual road tax will be $70, instead of $50 under the existing OPC scheme.

This means that existing OPC owners who opt for the revised OPC scheme will have their annual road tax increased by between $20 and $300. As the tax concessions given to OPC owners were computed taking into consideration the restricted usage periods, hence, the removal of Saturday restrictions and 5 public holiday eves will have to be accompanied by corresponding adjustments to the tax concessions.