LTA refines COE system to 3-monthly recycling periods

New system responds to de-registrations woes.

According to a release, from February 2014, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will refine the COE quota system to make it more responsive to de-registrations.

Currently, the COE quota is determined every six months, taking into account the number of vehicles that were de-registered in the preceding six months.

LTA has decided to move from this 6-monthly recycling period for determining COE quota to 3-monthly. A shorter recycling period will enable better and more prompt matching of the number of new COEs to be issued to replace de-registered vehicles.

With generally rising vehicle de-registration numbers in recent months, and with the trend likely to continue until about 2016, this is an appropriate juncture to make the change. In such a trend, a 3-month recycling period would be more responsive than a 6-month system in putting back COE quotas into the system to meet demand from owners who have de-registered their vehicles. A later change would delay the benefits to the public of a more responsive quota system.

The total COE quota for the period from February to April 2014 will be 9,127. This translates to a monthly COE quota of about 3,043 for all categories combined (about 5% higher compared to the 2,884 monthly quota that would have been allocated under the status quo).