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Cars in Singapore match cost of average U.S. home
Pedestrians cross the street along the Orchard road shopping area in Singapore on April 10, 2012. Permits for to buy a new car in Singapore have risen to almost $67,000 this year.
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In the United States, eight out of every ten people own a car. Even with insurance, registration, and gas, for most Americans, this is a manageable expense. The same cannot be said in other places around the world, including Singapore. In the Asian city-state, a car costs as much, if not more, than a house.
For today's mid-day extra, we talk to the BBC's correspondent Mariko Oi in Singapore about what's driving the costs up, who pays, and how she gets around.
Singapore is such a small island and because it is very small, it is easier for them to have one of the best transportation systems in the world (and it was very safe too). Once the US can extend the public transportation to every little towns like in Singapore, we can get rid of our cars or raise taxes on cars. (Though, I didn't think Singapore has little towns like in the US).
