Singapore public transport

No, you do not need a car in Singapore. Six MRT lines and 146 stations carried 3.49 million journeys a day in 2025. An adult card fare runs S$1.28 to S$2.57 ($1.01–2.02), the rates set on 27 December 2025. A ten-year permit to own a car closed at S$133,009 ($104,730) at the tender of 9 September 2026.

Current at 9 September 2026. Dollars at SGD 1.27 to US$1, the rate of 8 September 2026.

The permission slip to own a car costs more than the car

Before you may register a car here, you must win a Certificate of Entitlement at auction. It buys no vehicle, only the right to keep one on the road for ten years. That is deliberate policy, and it is why moving to Singapore rarely involves buying a car.

Category A, for cars up to 1,600 cc, closed at S$133,009 ($104,730) in the tender that ended on 9 September 2026 (motorist.sg COE results and LTA OneMotoring, read 10 September 2026). Category B closed at S$135,001 ($106,300), a motorcycle at S$12,556 ($9,890).

Singapore, honestly quotes S$128,501 from the tender that closed 19 August 2026, not 26 August as the book states. The next exercise, on 9 September, rose 3.51% to S$133,009 (LTA OneMotoring COE results, read 11 September 2026). The certificate is auctioned twice a month, so no figure here holds for long.

Six lines cover the island, and the last train is around midnight

Trains run from about 5:30 in the morning until roughly midnight (Wikipedia, Mass Rapid Transit, Singapore, read 8 September 2026). There are no all-night buses.

An adult card fare is S$1.28 to S$2.57 ($1.01–2.02) on bus or train, and bus cash runs S$2.10–3.20. That is 5% above the rates before 27 December 2025 (Public Transport Council; SimplyGo adult fares, read 10 September 2026). Express buses cost a fixed S$1 more, up to S$3.57. Start a rail trip before 7:45 on a weekday morning and you pay S$0.78–2.07, 50 cents less.

A monthly pass costs about S$122 ($96). Paper tickets are gone — you tap a bank card, a phone or a stored-value card. AXS top-ups ended on 29 August 2026.

Neither Stage 5 of the Thomson–East Coast Line nor the Downtown Line extension was running on 11 September 2026. LTA names 2026 for Stage 5 and gives no date at all for the Downtown Line extension (LTA, Thomson–East Coast Line project page, read 11 September 2026). Rent on the stations that exist.

Grab dominates, and a 3 km hop runs S$8–13

Gojek, TADA, Zig, Ryde and Geolah also work. TADA takes no commission from drivers, which shows in the price.

Those are observed ranges, not a published tariff. CHECK Every app prices dynamically, so rain or a Friday evening moves the number.

There are no motorbike taxis — they are illegal, and the riders you see deliver food.

Traffic is moderate: ten kilometres takes 21 minutes 21 seconds, and congestion sits at 43.9%, up 2.4 points from 2024 (TomTom Traffic Index 2025).

Taxis run their meters, which is not true across this region

No haggling, no refusals, no price agreed at the window. The meter runs and cards work. That is the exception in Southeast Asia.

Flag-down is S$4.60 in a hybrid and S$4.80 in an electric car ($3.62–3.78), then S$0.27 per 400 m to ten kilometres, then per 350 m beyond. Peak adds 25%, and midnight to 6 in the morning adds 50%. Leaving the CBD in the evening costs S$3, Changi costs S$6–8, and booking costs S$2.30 off-peak or S$3.30 at peak.

ComfortDelGro's published table still carries a temporary driver fee and the same 24 March–31 July 2026 validity window, unrevised six weeks past expiry (cdgtaxi.com.sg/fares, read 11 September 2026). Read the meter card.

The fleet says which way this went: 12,161 taxis in December 2025, against 62,092 private-hire cars.

You get 12 months, then your insurance rests on a card you have not applied for

A visitor may drive on a foreign licence in English for up to 12 months from arrival. A licence in another language needs an international permit or an official translation. ASEAN licences need neither.

The moment you hold a residence pass, that clock changes meaning. You must convert to a Singapore licence within 12 months. Drive after that on the foreign licence and it is an offence, and your motor insurance is void with it.

Converting is not hard. Pass the Basic Theory Test at S$6.50 ($5.10), then apply with your pass and your original licence. The fee is S$50 ($39) and it takes two to four weeks. CHECK The Traffic Police licence pages returned 404, so those fees come from secondary sources.

There is no practical retest on conversion — that theory paper is the only hurdle for a car licence.

One group cannot convert at all. A Short-Term Visit Pass holder may drive on a foreign licence and a permit, but conversion needs a residence pass. The Employment Pass salary floors are the real gate here too.

From scratch it is six to twelve months and S$3,000–4,000 ($2,360–3,150), then a year of probation on a P-plate. Driving unlicensed reaches a S$10,000 fine ($7,870) and three years in jail, plus impound and voided insurance; enforcement runs on cameras and patrols, not random stops.

The certificate is only the entry fee

Road tax on a 1,600 cc petrol car is about S$742 a year ($584), and petrol runs S$2.92–3.16 a litre ($2.30–2.49). Season parking runs S$110–120 a month at a public block, S$300–500 ($236–394) for a CBD office bay. Gantries charge S$0.50–6 per pass, 7am to 8pm.

Almost every foreigner rents by the hour instead. GetGo, BlueSG and Tribecar charge S$8–15 an hour ($6.30–11.80).

The book runs the full arithmetic at the S$128,501 tender: a Toyota Corolla Altis from a S$22,000 open-market value to roughly S$190,000–200,000 on the road ($149,600–157,500). At the 9 September S$133,009 certificate, the same build runs S$195,000–205,000.

Some districts walk, and two of them assume you drive

Covered walkways link almost every public housing block to its station. Singapore runs 31–34 °C with 80% humidity year-round, and they are the reason that does not end the trip (Singapore, honestly, 8 September 2026).

Tanjong Pagar, the CBD and Marina Bay walk end to end. Orchard and River Valley walk mostly under cover. Tiong Bahru walks well, and so do East Coast, Katong and Joo Chiat.

Two places do not. Holland Village and Bukit Timah are low-rise and green, and most households there keep a car. Sentosa Cove has no station: you drive, or take the HarbourFront shuttle. Punggol and Sengkang sit 35 to 45 minutes from town. Where expats live in Singapore takes this area by area.

There are more than 500 km of park connectors, and the Round Island Route covers 150 km of them. Bike-share costs about S$1 per 30 minutes. CHECK The research flags it, and Anywheel's site refused a fetch on 10 September 2026. Footpath cycling is capped at 10 km/h, and electric scooters are banned from footpaths. Changi's MRT reaches City Hall in 45 minutes for about S$2.20, first train 5:31 am; a taxi takes half an hour.

Related

A station nearby sets rent here more than raw distance to downtown does. Where expats live in Singapore gives the rent range and the drawback of all nine areas. Compare all ten cities before you book anything.