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Electronic Road Pricing

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The Electronic Road Pricing (Abbreviation: ERP; Chinese: 电子道路收费系统; Malay: Sistem Kadar Jalan Elektronik) scheme is an electronic toll collection scheme adopted in Singapore to manage traffic by road pricing, and as a usage-based taxation mechanism to complement the purchase-based Certificate of Entitlement system. It was implemented by the Land Transport Authority in September 1998 ^[1] to replace the Singapore Area Licensing Scheme ^[2] after successfully stress-testing the system with speeding Lamborghinis, Porsches and Ferraris. It is the first city in the world to implement an electronic toll collection system.

1 The system
2 Improvements and adaptations
3 Impact
4 Similar systems in other metropolitan areas
5 See also
6 External links
7 References

The system

The scheme consists of ERP gantries located at all roads linking into Singapore's central business district - areas within the Central Area such as the Downtown Core. They may also be located along the expressways and arterial roads with heavy traffic to discourage usage during peak hours. A device known as an In-vehicle Unit (IU) is affixed on the lower right corner of the front windscreen within sight of the driver, in which a stored-value card, the CashCard, is inserted for payment of the road usage charges. It is mandatory for all Singaporean vehicles to be fitted with an IU if they wish to use the priced roads. Foreigners driving foreign-registered cars on priced roads, during the ERP operating hours, could choose to either rent an IU or pay a daily flat fee of S$5. The gantry system is actually a system of sensors on 2 gantries, one in front of the other. Cameras are also attached to the gantries to capture the rear license plate numbers of vehicles which do not have sufficient funds in their CashCards. When a vehicle equipped with an IU passes under an ERP gantry, a road usage charge is deducted from the Cashcard. Sensors installed on the gantries communicate with the IU via a dedicated short-range communication system, and the deducted amount is displayed to the driver on an LCD screen of the IU. The deducted amount is dependent on the time and location (varying from S$0.25 to S$4.00 for passenger cars). No ERP charge is imposed during off-peak hours. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd sold this technology to Singapore, and the project was spearheaded by a Consortium comprising Philips Singapore Pte Ltd, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, Miyoshi Electronic Corporation and CEI Systems and Engineering (now known as CSE Global Ltd) in 1995 through an open tender.

Improvements and adaptations

A Electronic Parking System at Yishun.

According to a paper presented in the World Roads Conference 2006, the Land Transport Authority has been testing a system based on the Global Positioning System that may eventually replace the current Electronic Road Pricing system. The proposed system overcomes the inflexibility of having physical gantries, which "are not so flexible when it comes to re-locating them". [1] A lightweight version of this same technology is implemented for use on parking, known as the Electronic Parking System (EPS). It has since been adopted in favour by several carpark operators, superseding the use of autopay tickets or parking coupons. These systems have also typically switched to charging by the minute.

Impact

The ERP system, although understandably unpopular among most road users, has helped to tweak road usage patterns since its implementation. The LTA reported that road traffic decreased by nearly 25,000 vehicles during peak hours, with average road speeds increasing by about 20%. Within the restricted zone itself, traffic has gone down by about 13% during ERP operational hours, with vehicle numbers dropping from 270,000 to 235,000. It has been observed that car-pooling has increased, while the hours of peak vehicular traffic has also gradually eased and spread into off-peak hours, suggesting a more productive use of road space. In addition, it has been noted that average road speeds for expressways and major roads remained the same, despite rising traffic volumes over the years. The system has its share of problems. Road users pointed out that the implementation of an ERP gantry along any road simply moves the traffic somewhere else, potentially causing traffic bottlenecks along smaller roads. For example, the ERP gantry along the Central Expressway (CTE) has been said to have caused traffic to increase substantially in north-south trunk roads, such as along the Thomson Road and Serangoon Road corridors. The rising traffic prompted the LTA to add a gantry along Thomson Road, while Upper Serangoon Road's capacity was increased somewhat with the building of a new viaduct. Similarly, the ERP gantry on the East Coast Parkway's west-bound carriageway was said to have led to increased traffic on Geylang Road and Nicoll Highway, where ERP gantries were also placed subsequently. This "chasing after the jam" phenomena has led the general public to question its effectiveness. While ERP gantries on major roads and expressways have usually been implemented on the carriageway which is city-bound, major traffic congestion on the north-bound carriageway of the CTE has led to the LTA considering its implementation there, a suggestion which has been met with protests by motorists who questioned the need to pay for the time they take to go home. The LTA, sensing the displeasure, attempted to alleviate the situation by widening the road between the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) and Braddell Road in 2003, in response to public feedback which frequently attributed the jams to this congested stretch. In addition, the LTA expressed hopes that the completion of the North East MRT Line will help provide an alternative form of transport for north-eastern residents, who usually use the CTE to reach the city. The pending completion of the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway in 2008 has also been cited as a solution to the almost nightly jams. There was also suggestions for the CTE to be further widened, including the construction of a viaduct, which the LTA rejected citing its infeasibility. When the jams continued to persist, the LTA finally made the announcement on 30 May 2005 that a new ERP gantry will be setup on the northbound stretch between the PIE and Braddell Road from 1 August 2005.

Similar systems in other metropolitan areas

Despite the local public controversy, the ERT system attracted the attention of transport planners and managers in other metropolitan areas, particularly those in Europe and the United States. For example, the London Congestion Charge was introduced on 17 February 2003, after London officials visited Singapore to study the ERP system, and used it as a reference for the London system. London's charge area was expanded in 2007. ^[3] The Stockholm congestion tax is also a congestion pricing system implemented as a tax which is levied on most vehicles entering and exiting central Stockholm, Sweden.^[4] The congestion tax was implemented on a permanent basis on August 1, 2007,^[5]^[6] a seven month trial period was held between January 3, 2006 and July 31, 2006.^[7] United Arab Emirates has recently implemented a similar road toll collection called Salik^[8] which works on a similar principle. In other cities, similar systems have failed to see the green light for various reasons. For example, Hong Kong first conducted a pilot test on the Electronic Road Pricing system in 1983 to 1985 with positive results.^[9] The study also included a simulation of the Singapore Area Licensing Scheme-based 12-hour manual toll collecting system, itself also a world pioneering effort in road pricing since 1975. However, public opposition against the move stalled its implementation. New studies conducted in the 1990s and the opposition towards further reclamation of the Victoria Harbour recently has led to advocates of the ERP as a possible alternative for road management. Thomas Chow, Deputy Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, noted, however, that the Central-Wan Chai Bypass, to be built on the reclaimed land, is still needed because the ERP works best if an alternative road system is available, citing the Singapore and London experiences whereby the systems were only implemented after bypasses were available.