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Introduction
Mr Speaker, I firmly believe that the Electric Vehicle Charging Bill will be pivotal in laying the foundation for Singapore’s national agenda toward sustainable development. The Bill is set up to make electric vehicle charging safe, reliable and accessible in hopes to realise the rapid proliferation of electric vehicles and a cleaner, more sustainable Singapore.
The dynamics of car ownership in Singapore, however, are varied, and indeed ever changing. We have people who drive every day, people who drive only during weekends, people who drive to bring their family around, people who drive because of work, and people who drive because driving is their work. And indeed, I would argue that these varying dynamics need to be taken into consideration as we single-mindedly eye the prize of a clean sustainable Singapore with the proliferation of EVs.
While the total number of new car registrations dipped in the first half of the year, the number of cars registered for private hire were steadily on the rise. This means that an increasing proportion of cars on the road today are cars that are part of our public transport network, such as our registered for private hire vehicles, and our over 14,000-strong taxi fleet. What this means for the electric vehicle ecosystem in Singapore is that it is just as imperative to drive the uptake of electric vehicles among private hire and taxi drivers as it is for other vehicles for the Bill to realise its long-term goals. I understand that full taxi and private hire EVs on the road now are less than 5% of Singapore’s fleet size, and we have some miles to go before we sleep on this critical pivot. We do have some good tailwinds on the matter though, and through conversations with our leaders and members at the National Taxi Association and the National Private Hire Vehicles Association, I can feel a good buzzing energy (no puns intended) about the move towards EV, however, there are some concerns to on the ground.
Accessibility to Electric Vehicle charging stations
For those among us who drive cars, we are familiar with the anxieties associated with a near-empty tank and an unknown distance to the next petrol station. While our seasoned taxi and private hire drivers are familiar with the rhythms of their workhorses and are able to ‘agar-agar’ their refuelling schedules, they seek assurances that anxieties around an empty tank, or battery for that matter, can be dispelled. The ubiquity of charging stations is not enough - their prominence, locatability and predictability of availability are of utmost importance. Simply put, taxi and private hire drivers must be able to easily find and get to charging stations, and not be caught by their unavailability, for instance, by a long queue of drivers waiting for the charging point to be freed, even if the driver had come up the best of journey planning.
Factors that compound accessibility to charging stations
Mr Speaker, these concerns are compounded by two other factors:
a. One - the sheer distance that taxi and private hire drivers travel in a day,
b. Two - the concentration of jobs along major travel nodes.
a. Distance travelled by Point-to-Point (P2P) drivers
On distance: given that some taxi and private hire drivers easily travel over 300 km a day, multiple times the distance travelled by the average driver, charging becomes a much more pressing need for our P2P drivers. Indeed, our drivers may even be charging multiple times a day, throughout the day, especially if the vehicle is fully utilised round the clock, shared by the hirer and relief drivers.
b. Concentration of Electric Vehicle charging stations
On concentration: taxi and private hire jobs during peak hours are predictably focused on a few major travelling nodes in Singapore. This means that charging station availability is challenged, hindering the usage and experience of an electric vehicle from being a seamless one. The call, therefore, to ensure the prominence, locatability and the predictability of availability of charging stations is a crucial one, and the placement and rollout of the charging points must be one that takes into account travel patterns of Singaporeans.
Sharing culture of charging stations
Further, it is critical that as a country we start off on the right note on setting the norms of the sharing culture of charging points. Until the day where charging points are truly ubiquitous, it would be a situation where there are more EVs needing to be charged than charging points available, and there will certainly be a transitional period needed while the dust settles on sharing norms. Should the norm be one where it is first come first serve? Or should there be weighted preferential arrangements for vehicles which are used for livelihoods or saving lives. What would this new norm look like? Perhaps there could be special decals for certain vehicles, perhaps it is setting aside charging points to be used only by certain vehicles within key time frames, perhaps it is allowing corporations the liberty of putting in their own charging points for their employees, partners and members. What is clear though, is that there needs to be awareness, education and even public campaigns on the considerations of various driver communities and suggested sharing norms.
Ease the transition to electric vehicles
Mr Speaker, in any major technological shift, it is inevitable that early adopters do not enjoy the economies of scale that later adopters enjoy and therefore bear heavier fixed costs, as well as higher running costs as a result of a nascent ecosystem. This is the same in the electric vehicle ecosystem - electric vehicles are still more expensive to procure than Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles, and though they promise lower running costs, the nascency of the electric vehicle ecosystem still incur drivers some costs. For example, a concern for private hire and taxi drivers are the costs surrounding the prolonged usage of car parks while charging their vehicles in these car parks mandated to provide EV charging. Should a private hire or taxi driver need to charge their vehicle after a job in the Central Business District (CBD), a stopover at a charging station in the CBD could set them back at least two to three dollars an hour. As we figure out how to incentivise early adopters to make the transition to electric vehicles, the last thing we want to do is disincentivise them. Therefore, I call on the Government to ease the transition of private hire and taxi drivers to electric vehicles by waiving the costs of parking in such car parks for them as they are charging their vehicles.
Conclusion
Mr Speaker, the concerns I have outlined here notwithstanding, I would like to share with the house that there are good tailwinds for the adoption of EV amongst our P2P community. I recall that sometime last year, I was a happy witness to Mr Ah Ban, one of our taxi leaders picking up his new EV car. We marvelled about the quietness of the electric car and the technology behind it; we appreciated happily the savings made moving from petrol to electricity, and we were positive about the changes EVs would make to our lives. And indeed, Mr Ah Ban adapted quickly to the changes he needed to make as an EV driver. Instead of driving for hours on end running a full tank of petrol to zero, he now drives for four to five hours at a time, stopping to charge his vehicle, and taking a well-needed 45 minute break each time. I was very glad to hear that during those times, besides taking a meal or a drink to replenish himself, he also uses the time to go to the gym for a quick run as the charging point he frequents has a nearby gym with shower facilities. The move to EV for Mr Ah Ban was an awesome move, not just only for sustainability or his driving trade, but also for his mental and physical wellbeing!
The Bill paints a vision of the future where the usage of electric vehicles is ubiquitous and seamless - a smarter, more sustainable future. Our P2P driving community and I stand behind this move. However, as a society in transition, we highlight the importance of an inclusive and considered rollout and implementation that takes into account a diversity of needs because of the varying types of drivers out there. While the dust settles on the plan, the Unions and our Associations will continue to work the ground and engage with our major stakeholders to give our inputs to the implementation plan. These concerns notwithstanding, I support the Bill.
