Land Transport Authority Autopass for Malaysian cars
Feedback from Ismael Ketura
One area that I will recommend that the Singapore government to improve is the issuance of autopass/ VEP and update of insurance and roadtax of foreign vehicles in the autopass.

Previously before the Covid pandemic , if your car did not possess autopass or your roadtax was expired, you can visit the LTA office at Singapore CIQ and few ladies at the LTA offices will assist to verify your roadtax and within few minutes new autopass will be reissued or your autopass will be updated. The ladies need only to verify the Malaysian road tax disc and need not verify the vehicle ownership document and also the vehicle insurance document. Malaysian road tax validity was already made to match the last date of your vehicle insurance coverage.

After the Covid pandemic , a new process was put in place .You have to apply on line and you have to upload the vehicle road tax image, vehicle certificate, and the vehicle insurance document. If your name did not match or your insurance company did not match, or some other particulars did not match, your application will be rejected and you need to apply again and need to wait again until the LTA offices processed it again.

I am wondering why LTA requested for three documents ( road tax, ownership certificate, certificate of insurance) if the vital item to verify was the validity of road tax. By simplifying the process to only upload the image of the vehicle road tax , the process will eliminate a lot of unnecessary errors and unproductive processes and will hasten the process of approval.

Once approved, an email will be sent by LTA requesting the applicants to collect the new autopass card at LTA 's outsourced company in Jalan Tun Abdul Razak, Johor Baru. Why not courier it to the address as requested by the applicants instead of directing them to collect and the hassle collecting at LTA's outsourced company at Jalan Tun Abdul Razak. .
I am also suggesting, for urgent issuance, applicants can go to LTA's outsourced office in Jalan Susur and a new autopass can be issued after verification of the applicant road tax .

For urgent issuance and autopass personalisation, additional charges can be imposed to cover the outsourced company's operation cost . There will always be some incidents , some vehicles arrived at Singapore CIQ without autopass or their road tax not updated in the system. The current practice to send them back to to Johor. Why not process their application at the LTA's CIQ but to impose higher charges than the charges imposed by LTA's outsourced company.

By doing the above, I think the issuance of autopass and renewal of vehicle road tax can be carried out in a more efficient manner and at the least cost.
I have gone through the current hassle, it was a nightmare.smael Ketura said.

Here are my views
1. I agree with Ismael. The earlier LTA protocol is adequate. LTA can issue the autopass for each vehicle without the insurance and ownership documents. The vehicle is already registered with the Malaysian authority. There is no need for LTA to duplicate this work.

2. The purpose of LTA is to collect revenue for the use of the road in Singapore. This is facilitated by the autopass.

3. LTA is probably concerned that the vehicle should be adequately insured for third party liability. The foreign driver can provide proof of insurance when an accident occurs. If the vehicle is not insured, it can be compounded.

4. Alternatively, LTA can levy in the daily fee a component to cover the third party insurance in Singapore. This fee can be $3 a day. This will transfer the settlement of liability to an insurer in Singapore. I understand that there were problems faced with third party claims against Malaysian insurers.

5. We should revert to the previous arrangement to reduce work for LTA and hassle for the owners of Malaysian vehicles.

6. LTA should allow the owner to get an autopass on the spot on payment of a modest fee and submission of the road tax disc.

Tan Kin Lian

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