Demand and Supply of Heavy Vehicle Parking Lots

2 Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef asked the Minister for National Development (a) how does the current number of heavy vehicle parking lots measure up with the current number of such vehicles and the demand for these lots; and (b) whether there are plans to review the location and availability of such lots.

The Senior Minister of State for National Development (for the Minister for National Development) (Mr Desmond Lee): Madam, currently, there are 34,400 heavy vehicles in Singapore and about 44,170 heavy vehicle parking lots island-wide. There are more lots than there are heavy vehicles. Seventy six percent of the lots are provided by the private sector, with the rest by URA and HDB.

We recognise that there is demand for more public heavy vehicle parks near housing estates as drivers prefer to park near where they live. However, there are practical difficulties to provide more heavy vehicle parking lots in residential estates. First, these estates are highly built up; second, land is needed for housing and other community uses residents need; and third, we also receive feedback of residents' concerns on noise and above all, safety arising from heavy vehicular traffic in or near residential areas.

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of business owners to have parking solutions for the vehicles they own and also to work out with their drivers appropriate transport options to commute to work, especially for those who have to drive during the wee hours.

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade): I thank the Senior Minister of State for the response. There are quite a few occasions where I have come across drivers who actually have to sleep in the vehicles because they really cannot find a heavy vehicle parking lot and they have to park by the roadside somewhere and they are worried about summonses.

I was wondering whether the Ministry can do some kind of review. We understand the disamenities that can arise from heavy vehicles parking close to residential areas, but perhaps a review targeted to specific areas would be useful as well.

Mr Desmond Lee: Madam, perhaps to set the Member's concerns in the context of the nature of this issue, let me start out by saying that LTA currently requires every heavy vehicle to secure an overnight heavy vehicle parking lot at an LTA-approved vehicle parking area. And the Vehicle Parking Certificate (VPC), to that effect, needs to be produced before: one, a heavy vehicle is registered; two, before road tax is renewed; and three, before the ownership of the heavy vehicle is transferred.

Technically, every single heavy vehicle that runs on the road in Singapore already has a designated lot and a VPC. Otherwise, they cannot be driving. The drivers that the Member referred to, there are already designated lots for their vehicles, by way of the VPC.

I said earlier that numerically, there are more lots than there are vehicles. The problem that the Member articulated in context is largely one of localised mismatch of supply and demand. There are a variety of instances, but let me draw to the House's attention, three situations that we can encounter.

The first situation is business owners want to park their vehicles after the working shift, near to their business premises. It is a factor of production; they went to keep it nearby for servicing, maintenance, security and so on. But they cannot find lots, because the parking in that area is heavily subscribed.

The second situation is a bit more interesting. Business owners have a VPC for their vehicle, that means they have a certificate and a lot, but they are not permitted to park in the lot for which they bought the VPC. Sometimes, we find that it is because the private operators of that particular parking lot is misusing the space, for example, using it to store goods, equipment for his own vehicles. So, it is a phantom lot. It is a VPC on paper; the business owner buys it, can renew road tax and all, but for all purposes and intents, the business owner does not have a lot and the driver bears the brunt of it.

The third situation is probably the one that Members see the most. The vehicle owner has secured the VPC but the driver prefers instead to park as close to home as possible, often, in and around HDB residential estates. But there are not enough of such lots and there is a waiting queue. I said earlier in my reply that these lots are scarce. They are located in heavily built-up areas. There is demand for land and there is a lot of security and safety concerns. In these situations, the drivers have difficulty getting to and from the lot in which the owner has gotten. The owner just gets a lot but leaves it to the driver to sort out his own commute. If it is ending work at 11.00 pm, midnight or starting work at 2.00 am to 3.00 am, for some drivers, that can be a challenge. It is largely because the company, the employer does not provide for that commute.

We will look to address the three big scenarios in a number of ways. For the first situation, we plan to inject more heavy parking lots in industrial estates where business owners have a lot of demand. For example, URA and JTC will continue to mandate the building of heavy vehicle parks in heavy industrial developments. The Member may like to know that since two years ago, since 2014, successful tenderers of selected Government Land Sale sites for industrial development have been required to build and to co-locate a multi-storey heavy vehicle park with their industrial development because it then supplements the spaces in that area.

For new industrial estates and whenever older industrial estates are being re-developed, both HDB and JTC will inject more heavy vehicle parking. This will be particularly useful for HDB industrial estates being redeveloped because they are not that far from some of our HDB estates.

For the second situation, the phantom lots, it is an issue of enforcement. The drivers who are faced with this ought to make a report so that the proper action can be taken.

For the third situation, and this is the one we are most sympathetic about, when employers get a lot and it is far from the driver's home and the company does not provide or does not wish to provide a service to bring the driver to work. We are looking at how best, through a number of levers, to get companies and businesses to meet the transport and commuting needs of their drivers. For public heavy vehicle parks that are at the fringes of residential estates, URA is looking at putting bicycle racks to enable the drivers to cycle home, if they wish to.

There are a number of areas that we need to look at and it is not an issue that is one dimensional.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten): Mdm Speaker, I just wanted to ask the Senior Minister of State whether the Ministry of National Development (MND) will consider other options. I raised this during the Committee of Supply (COS) last year, which is about using other car park places available at night. For example, sports stadiums. If you go to a sports stadium, the car parks at night are totally empty because there is nobody in the stadium. Can we not think about converting such places to become parking lots for heavy vehicles on a temporary basis?

Essentially, we are talking about more efficient use of land. Whenever we talk about heavy vehicle car park lots, most of the time in the day, they are empty. So, we are keeping them empty in the day, only to be used at night. Can we not think of a way where we have lots of car park spaces that are for commercial or sports use and they are available at night, and we allow the heavy vehicle drivers to park there.

Mr Desmond Lee: I thank the Member for his suggestion, which we have noted from various previous COS sessions. A whole variety of out-of-the-box solutions is certainly being looked at all the time. The idea about parking space at stadiums, at schools for school buses, all these are things we look at. We need to be mindful, of course, about the concerns that are raised about safety. If the car park is near or within residential estates, then, that poses concerns that residents will raise.

Mr Cedric Foo Chee Keng (Pioneer): What about working with industry associations or unions? Individual companies arranging transport for one person may be difficult, but as an association or union, perhaps, they can cobble up enough companies and drivers to run a transport service circuit to address this location mismatch.

Mr Desmond Lee: About 92% of all heavy vehicles are owned by companies with the remainder being owned by individuals, maybe they are sole proprietors or otherwise. So, 92% owned by businesses large and small and even medium size. Apart from working with businesses, we will also look at associations to see how they can come in and play a part. I thank the Member for his suggestion.

Mr Yee Chia Hsing (Chua Chu Kang): Currently, there is a situation where the company buys the VPC for a location in Changi but the driver stays in Jurong. Another company may have bought the VPC in Jurong but the driver stays in Changi. Can we not have a matching system where they can just swop the VPC? Because currently, on its own, the company would not have the resources and the network to realise that there is an opposite match.

Mr Desmond Lee: This is about coordination at the broader level. From the company's point of view, if they know the driver lives in Jurong, they should try to look for a heavy vehicle park that is not that far away. As I said, there are about 30,000-plus vehicles and 40,000-plus lots. Businesses can play a part and they can have a conversation with their drivers to get a better sense of what their needs are. There are many levels where people can play a part.