Uber's new Unlocking Cities ad in Singapore draws mixed reactions

Uber launched its Unlocking Cities campaign earlier this month and its ad in Singapore has been making waves for showing citizens a wake-up call to what car boom entails. In a tiny city-state like Singapore, space can be of supreme value.

The Unlocking Cities ad for Singapore shows people carrying boxes, a metaphor for cars. If each citizen has a car, the small country is doomed to have overwhelming congested roads and problems that come along with it.

Also read: Are Grab and Uber threatened by Singapore's car growth freeze in 2018?

At the moment, the country has more than 675,000 registered vehicles. This needs a car park the size of CBDs to accommodate every vehicle, claims Uber.

"So, we if we took away the cars we don't need, we could free up space the size of two CBDs, space that could be used for hospitals, parks and schools," reads Uber's campaign.

The company also notes that 3 out of 5 cars during rush hours have one person in them, while the average citizen unknowingly spends 288 hours a year in traffic and looking for parking. Not to mention, almost S$5,000 are being spent on average to look for parking.

With Uber's attempt to influence this generation when it comes to car ownership, the company believes that ridesharing services are the way to go.

"When cities move efficiently, people get more done."

Many citizens resonate well with Uber's vision to make Singapore a better place for everyone. On Twitter, some have expressed their gladness over the company's ride-sharing advertisement:

Unfortunately, some were not pleased by the ad as some Singaporeans had a heated discussion on YouTube:

Watch the Unlocking Cities ad below!