German govt slashes public transport fares by 90% for citizens — S’poreans poke fun: “Not in SG… here, we do COE”

SINGAPORE — In response to news of how a few months ago, the German government slashed public transit fares by up to 90% in certain areas to get citizens to reduce fuel usage, Singaporeans have called on their own government to “show a bit of forward-thinking” and follow suit.

On Monday (Dec 12), an online user shared a screenshot of a news headline from ZME Science that spoke of how back in June, Germany slashed public transit costs by up to 90% in some areas. This twofold initiative was reportedly launched to address the problem of pollution and emission and to ease Germany off of its relationship with oil from Russia.

The netizen who shared this headline also wrote the caption, “How about we show a bit of forward-thinking?”

In response to the shared headline, many Singaporeans took to the comments section to either express their disappointment with prices in Singapore, call out the government, or even make sarcastic jokes with strong political references.

“Not in Singapore… here, we do COE,” said one,” making reference to the high Certificate of Entitlement cost, especially in Singapore. “That is a role model of a country that puts people first,” said another.

“We limit cars so that public transport can up price,” one online user said sarcastically. Another said, “Singapore raised COE far beyond the reach of the majority so Singaporeans will be forced to take public transport. And the government raised public transport costs to gain even more revenue. Singapore’s government is richer than Germany’s.”