This letter was submitted to ST Forum on 19 April 2012 and was published on 24 April 2012. It was also referenced by an article written by Julian Wright on the COE:
Mr Chan Tau Chou has raised a valid point (‘Steep COE prices: Balloting fairer and cheaper‘; last Thursday). In designing a balloting system, tag the certificate of entitlement (COE) to the person rather than the car. Make it non-transferable to prevent abuse and profiteering.
To make up for the shortfall in tax revenues, Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) rates can be increased. This will shift the cost of owning a car more towards the usage and will help to further curb the number of vehicles on the road. The present system results in people maximising the use of their cars, as the amount paid for COEs is significantly higher than ERP rates.
Tie COE to cost of car, not engine size – Julian Wright