Nearly 13% fewer COEs for next 6 months

A total of 19,351 Certificates of Entitlement or COE will be made available between August this year and January 2013. 

That's 2,809 COEs fewer, a cut of 12.7 per cent from the previous six-month period 22,160 for February to July 2012. 

The cut comes mainly from the quota for small cars - which will now have a monthly quota of just 786, down from 1,239 between February and July. 

That's a cut of 36.6 per cent.

Also down significantly, the open category, which will have a quota of 485, a 21.3 per cent drop from the previous 6-month period. 

COE quota for big cars will be 701 per month. This is comparable to the monthly quota of 699 between February and July 2012.

But there'll be more monthly COEs for goods and vehicles and buses - 360 from August to January 2012. 

This is an increase of 12.85 per cent. 

More monthly COEs too for motorcycles - 894, up from 820 in the previous 6-month period. 

This is an increase of 9 per cent. 

Bidding under this quota will start with the August 2012 First Open Bidding Exercise. 

The Land Transport Authority says the COE quota for August 2012 to January 2013 consists of two components. 

These include the provision for a 1 per cent vehicle growth based on the vehicle population as at 31 December 2011; and the replacement COEs for vehicles de-registered between January and June this year.

The next COE quota announcement for the COE bidding period from February 2013 to July 2013 will be made in January 2013. 

In May 2012, LTA had announced that the vehicle growth rate will be reduced to 1.0 per cent per annum from August 2012, before being further reduced to 0.5% each year from February 2013 to January 2015. 

In addition, a total of 4,789 remaining adjustments for over-projections in Quota Years 2008 and 2009 that were scheduled to be spread over bidding months from August 2012 to January 2014 - will now be deferred for 1 year from August 2012 to July 2013. 

They will resume from August 2013 to January 2015.