Debated in Parliament on 6 Feb 2018.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) how many applications have been received for HDB season parking for disabled car park lots since this scheme was implemented; (b) of these, how many applications are unsuccessful; and (c) what are the reasons for the unsuccessful applications.
Sir, the Car Park Label Scheme (CPLS) was introduced in 1980 to assist drivers with physical disabilities to board and alight from their vehicles. CPLS was extended in 1996 to include caregivers who drive passengers with physical disabilities. Drivers with CPLS label can park in dedicated car park lots that are marked with the accessible symbol of a person in a wheelchair. There are two types of labels: the Class 1 label is for drivers with physical disabilities; and the Class 2 label is for passengers with physical disabilities.
The Class 1 label allows drivers with disability to park in accessible parking lots for as long as they need, with no time limit. The Class 2 label allows the caregivers who are drivers to park in a designated lot for up to an hour, to assist their passenger with disability to board or alight, as the case may be. Thereafter, the vehicle must be shifted to a standard parking lot to free up the accessible lot for other eligible users who require it.
SG Enable administers CPLS and processes over 3,000 applications annually. More than 90% of these are successful. For those that are not, the main reason is because applicants are assessed by medical professionals to be able to board and alight their vehicles from an ordinary car park lot, and do not need the wider space provided by an accessible lot to do so.