Leave your car behind
By Raghav Ramful
Published on 11th July, 2008
If you travel to your workplace by your car everyday, then you must be among one of those lucky ones who can still afford the luxury. Yes, you heard it right; it is indeed a luxury to be able to do that and this privilege is gradually slipping away from many of us.
No matter how hard we try, we can no more play the escapist. It is high time we faced harsh reality and accepted the present situation. The price of oil on the international market is showing no sign of going down and the upward trend is here to last. It has crossed $140 the barrel last week and the worst is yet to come.
We have developed such dependence on petrol and even without realising it, our lives revolve around it and the slightest price fluctuation creates a stir in our existence. The recent price revision on petrol on the local market has sent ripples across the country and many motorists are reconsidering their travelling habits. At a staggering Rs 49.50 a litre of petrol, things are not fine anymore and we can already sense our fate in three months’ time with the forthcoming automatic pricing mechanism exercise. We were spared the time before last, when the committee sat for reviewing the price of petrol as the price did not change. But that was an exception to the rule that is very unlikely to repeat itself unless a miracle happens on the international scene.
Meanwhile, the most frequently asked question on the lips of almost all motorists these days remains whether it is vital for a person to get to his workplace in his car or not. The answer of course depends on our priorities and on how much we can afford to pamper ourselves with our monthly income.
The distance between your workplace and your residence is also a determining factor.
Vikesh Gooriah, an IT professional residing at La Marie has to travel to the capital to his office six times a week. With the petrol hike of around 20%, he has to disburse some Rs 6000 monthly for his petrol bills which swallow a big chunk of his monthly salary of Rs 20,000. This represents 30% of his pay slip and he is currently considering the options he has at hand. For him, all the other means, whichever they may be, will definitely be more profitable, but he will have to put in a lot of sacrifice.
“I will certainly be better off hopping on a bus to Port Louis every day and there are express buses going to the capital from where I live,” he says. For that, Gooriah will have to set off earlier than usual to avoid the traffic jam on the motorway during the morning peak hours.
“I am sure I will get used to this new trend and with some morning newspapers handy, things should be fine,” he adds. According to him, if he goes on using his car to commute to his workplace, he won’t be able to make savings.
Therefore he agrees that he would be using his car for pleasure driving during the weekends.
Registration costs
But then, on second thoughts, Gooriah says that he is seriously thinking about selling his car. By the end of this month, he has to renew the insurance vignette on his car, which amounts to more than Rs 10,000 and the annual registration fee that has to be paid to the National Transport Authority.
Gooriah, a speed addict, drives a Subaru Impreza with engine capacity of 2000cc. His choice for such a car with this engine capacity was a natural one but now he regrets it. He will have to disburse an additional Rs 2500 to get his car on the road. Counting from July 1st, annual registration fees for vehicles have witnessed considerable hike. The worst hit are owners of vehicles above 1850cc. Vehicles with engine capacity below 1250 cc are spared and the tariff remains at Rs 3,500 for annual registration.
Those between 1251cc and 1850cc will have to dish out Rs 500 more. Owners of vehicles with engine capacity between 1850cc and 2250 cc will have to chip in an extra Rs 2500 and Rs 5000 for vehicles above 2250cc.
“I don’t think I can bear such burden and it is better I sell off my car and buy a motorcycle,” he says.
On the other hand, owners of SUVs or four wheel drive vehicles all fall into the more than 2250cc category and if they were already disbursing around Rs 8000 for annual registration, they will now have to pay Rs 13,000. Just like Gooriah, there are many who are seriously thinking of doing away with their vehicles and opt for cheaper options.
Obstacles ahead
The tribulations of a vehicle owner are diverse and there is many a deterrent to encourage him to leave his car at home. One of them is about to surface in the coming days especially if he has to cruise into the capital. Ever wondered how stressing it is to find a parking in the capital even if you are ready to pay the parking price with your coupon in hand? Now added to that, the price of parking coupons is expected to witness a hike ranging from 25% to 40%. That’s not all, mind you! The previous parking time of two hours will be sliced to a mere 30 minutes. The intention of the concerned authorities must have been a good one - to discourage people from barging into the capital with their cars and laying a heavy toll on traffic in the city. This move would surely help the economy by bringing remedial action to the incidence on productivity caused by workers turning up late in the morning.
However, downing that bitter pill which is growing bigger day by day with rising costs of running a vehicle is another question. The choice is going to be a hard one and the authorities are ill-bent in persuading vehicle owners to leave their car behind.
We have developed such dependence on petrol and even without realising it, our lives revolve around it and the slightest price fluctuation creates a stir in our existence. The recent price revision on petrol on the local market has sent ripples across the country and many motorists are reconsidering their travelling habits. At a staggering Rs 49.50 a litre of petrol, things are not fine anymore and we can already sense our fate in three months’ time with the forthcoming automatic pricing mechanism exercise. We were spared the time before last, when the committee sat for reviewing the price of petrol as the price did not change. But that was an exception to the rule that is very unlikely to repeat itself unless a miracle happens on the international scene.
Meanwhile, the most frequently asked question on the lips of almost all motorists these days remains whether it is vital for a person to get to his workplace in his car or not. The answer of course depends on our priorities and on how much we can afford to pamper ourselves with our monthly income.
The distance between your workplace and your residence is also a determining factor.
Vikesh Gooriah, an IT professional residing at La Marie has to travel to the capital to his office six times a week. With the petrol hike of around 20%, he has to disburse some Rs 6000 monthly for his petrol bills which swallow a big chunk of his monthly salary of Rs 20,000. This represents 30% of his pay slip and he is currently considering the options he has at hand. For him, all the other means, whichever they may be, will definitely be more profitable, but he will have to put in a lot of sacrifice.
“I will certainly be better off hopping on a bus to Port Louis every day and there are express buses going to the capital from where I live,” he says. For that, Gooriah will have to set off earlier than usual to avoid the traffic jam on the motorway during the morning peak hours.
“I am sure I will get used to this new trend and with some morning newspapers handy, things should be fine,” he adds. According to him, if he goes on using his car to commute to his workplace, he won’t be able to make savings.
Therefore he agrees that he would be using his car for pleasure driving during the weekends.
Registration costs
But then, on second thoughts, Gooriah says that he is seriously thinking about selling his car. By the end of this month, he has to renew the insurance vignette on his car, which amounts to more than Rs 10,000 and the annual registration fee that has to be paid to the National Transport Authority.
Gooriah, a speed addict, drives a Subaru Impreza with engine capacity of 2000cc. His choice for such a car with this engine capacity was a natural one but now he regrets it. He will have to disburse an additional Rs 2500 to get his car on the road. Counting from July 1st, annual registration fees for vehicles have witnessed considerable hike. The worst hit are owners of vehicles above 1850cc. Vehicles with engine capacity below 1250 cc are spared and the tariff remains at Rs 3,500 for annual registration.
Those between 1251cc and 1850cc will have to dish out Rs 500 more. Owners of vehicles with engine capacity between 1850cc and 2250 cc will have to chip in an extra Rs 2500 and Rs 5000 for vehicles above 2250cc.
“I don’t think I can bear such burden and it is better I sell off my car and buy a motorcycle,” he says.
On the other hand, owners of SUVs or four wheel drive vehicles all fall into the more than 2250cc category and if they were already disbursing around Rs 8000 for annual registration, they will now have to pay Rs 13,000. Just like Gooriah, there are many who are seriously thinking of doing away with their vehicles and opt for cheaper options.
Obstacles ahead
The tribulations of a vehicle owner are diverse and there is many a deterrent to encourage him to leave his car at home. One of them is about to surface in the coming days especially if he has to cruise into the capital. Ever wondered how stressing it is to find a parking in the capital even if you are ready to pay the parking price with your coupon in hand? Now added to that, the price of parking coupons is expected to witness a hike ranging from 25% to 40%. That’s not all, mind you! The previous parking time of two hours will be sliced to a mere 30 minutes. The intention of the concerned authorities must have been a good one - to discourage people from barging into the capital with their cars and laying a heavy toll on traffic in the city. This move would surely help the economy by bringing remedial action to the incidence on productivity caused by workers turning up late in the morning.
However, downing that bitter pill which is growing bigger day by day with rising costs of running a vehicle is another question. The choice is going to be a hard one and the authorities are ill-bent in persuading vehicle owners to leave their car behind.