Singapore's transport costs almost three times costlier than New York's: EIU

And it's the world’s priciest city for the second straight year.

The cost of commuting or driving in the Big Apple are nothing compared to Lion City's exorbitant transport costs.

The complex Certificate of Entitlement system is the main culprit behind Singapore’s high cost of living, the Economist Intelligence Unit revealed today.

The city-state has again been named as the world’s costliest city by the Economist Intelligence Unit's Worldwide Cost of Living Survey.

The report shows that the COE system makes car prices “excessive”, with local transport costs almost three times higher than in New York.

The city-state heads an unchanged top five, with Paris (2nd), Oslo (3rd), Zurich (4th) and Sydney (5th) all remaining structurally expensive.

Despite topping the ranking, EIU states that Singapore still offers relative value in some categories, such as in terms of basic groceries, where the city-state is only 11% more expensive than New York.

However, Singapore remains consistently expensive in other categories. It is the joint most expensive place in the world alongside Seoul to buy clothes, with the malls of Orchard Road offering a price premium that is over 50% higher than in New York. 

The Worldwide Cost of Living Survey covers 133 cities worldwide using New York as a base city.