The C Footprint

Source : TODAY, Tuesday, August 28, 2007

How it can be used to offset COE and ERP charges

Letter from DR KHOO GUAN SENG

THE Government might have overlooked other holistic and long-term solutions to road congestion and traffic problems, other than the current tried-and-tested Certificate of Entitlement (COE) and Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) approach.

Singapore has an opportunity to transform the current COE/ERP transport model into a national green movement. Today, it’s very easy to calculate how much carbon (C) emission a vehicle will emit based on its brand, model, engine capacity and mileage.

If the Government imposes a fixed C emission quota per vehicle and uses this C quota model to complement the COE quota and ERP pricing usage model, there will always be road users who will over-drive (beyond the C emission quota) or underdrive. Immediately, that creates an opportunity for trading in C offsets, which can occur on say, a local eBay-like platform or on a new transportation-based C exchange.

Singapore is a recent signatory to the Kyoto Protocol and if this idea is implemented, it will be a good demonstration of its support for and belief in combating global warming, while managing the traffic congestion problem by indirectly influencing the road usage behaviour. It also creates an entirely new retail product, unique to Singapore. Even green buildings, such as those with say, solar panels on their roofs, may produce sufficient C offsets for the frequent drivers to purchase on the C exchange.

Because the scale of the C emission generated, or C footprint, is tied to the road usage behaviour of the individual drivers, it becomes a natural complement to the ERP charges and pricing model. The Government can then afford to moderate the ERP charges as the C offset charge or credit is nationwide, not restricted to those roads with ERP gantries.

The fees tied to the exchange trading activities will also create revenue for the Government which may be placed in a National Carbon Trust to fund and promote more sustainable and environmentally friendly projects. In addition, being a national model, the products traded on this C exchange may evolve into other environmentally related derivatives and energy-related commodities, spawning a new investment asset class, invented and made in Singapore.

Parents in lose-lose race

Letter from CONNIE KUM

I COULDN’T agree more with Mr James Teo in his letter “Are ERP hikes the only way?” and Mr Loke Yue Chong in his letter “Cost isn’t just to the wallet” (Aug 27). They have both pointed out exactly what we heartlanders are facing every single day.

As working parents without any help from parents, my husband and I face the challenge of racing with time every day. A typical day for us starts at 6am, leaving the house by 7am, dropping off our kids at school and rushing to beat the ERP at the Pan-Island Expressway, towards Changi which commences at 7.30am. More often than not, we lose the battle against time due to heavy traffic as every parent is doing the same thing at the same time.

The new ERP operating hours will be an even bigger challenge for us to cope. This leads me to my next question: Will the ERP hikes really help to ease the traffic? On the contrary, I see many immediate ill effects.

For one, road users will have to bear heavier costs. With ERP gantries now operating longer hours, families without children going to school may decide to leave home earlier and come home later just to beat the traffic and the higher ERP charges, hence compromising their family time together.

For families with children going to school, we do not have a choice but to leave the house at the usual time and face the same traffic — while having to bear higher ERP charges. It is definitely a lose-lose situation for families in such a predicament.

Leaving for work at 6am?

Letter from JENNIFER LEM

WITH the ERP hours starting at 7am, more drivers will set off on their journeys earlier. To beat the ERP, congestion and jams will start on the Cental Expressway (CTE) from 6.30am or even earlier.

If one has to use the CTE, no matter how much the toll is raised or how early the
operation hours start, such a motorist will continue to use that route. The problem will never be solved. If I have to pay the ERP rate and still get stuck in traffic, what is the rationale of having to pay more?

Starting ERP early will penalise people living in Punggol and Sengkang. For them, to get to town, the only route is by the CTE instead of via Hougang and Serangoon Road as there are bottlenecks along the way up to Bendemeer Road. What is the point of promoting the new estate when living there means having to leave home early at 6am to get to work at 9am? The new Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway will not help much either.

Perhaps the authorities should build an expressway from Ang Mo Kio Ave 5 that only exits at Outram.