From today, off-peak car (OPC) owners can start buying their electronic licences for use from Nov 23, the day when the OPC scheme will turn digital and paper licences will be scrapped.

The e-licences make it more convenient for OPC owners as they can be bought online anytime between 6am to 12 midnight daily. More outlets will also carry the electronic licences.

Besides SingPost outlets and Automobile Association of Singapore offices, the e-licences are available through:

• The Land Transport Authority (LTA)'s online motoring portal, www.onemotoring.com.sg;
  
• AXS stations located island-wide; and
  
• mobile SMS services via Mobil P@y. Interested parties will need to sign up for the service at www.mobilepay.sg.

Besides the added flexibility on hours of purchase, motorists can also choose to buy the e-licence after using the OPC, as long as they do so before 2359 hours the next day. Currently, the paper licence must be purchased before the use of the vehicle.

With the e-licence, motorists will no longer be stopped by LTA's enforcement officers for checks on valid licences, which will prove to be more convenient.

They will instead note down the vehicle registration number of the OPC and subsequently verify against the system records if a valid e-licence had been purchased for the car for that day.

Unused paper licences

From now til May 31, 2010, OPC and weekend car (WEC) owners can return any unused paper day licences that are not torn, tampered, defaced or invalidated to any SingPost outlet or to LTA's office located at 10 Sin Ming Drive to:

a. Apply for a refund (applies to the $20 paper supplementary licences for OPCs only); or
b. Convert the paper licences to e-Day Licences for use from 23 November 2009 (applies to both the free supplementary licences for Weekend Cars (WEC) and the $20 supplementary licences for OPCs/WECs).

Offence to use OPC/WEC without a valid licence

It is an offence to use an OPC/WEC during the restricted hours without a valid licence. It is also an offence if the owner/driver did not enter the usage date for its pre-paid un-dated e-licence before 2359 hours on the next day after the OPC/WEC was used.

Errant drivers are liable to a fine of up to $5,000. For subsequent offences, the driver/ owner is liable to a fine of up to $10,000.

The OPC scheme fits into LTA's overall objectives to better manage congestion on the roads, particularly during the peak periods. In 2005, there were only about 5,000 OPCs. Today, there are about 46,600 OPCs, a nine-fold increase over a 3-year period. OPCs currently make up about 8 percent of the car population in Singapore.

To facilitate the transition to the new e-Day Licence system, letters and guidebooks on the new system were mailed to all current OPC owners in Sept 2009. Information on the e-licence system is also available on www.onemotoring.com.sg.