New gantries coming up, with changes effective on Oct 26 and Nov 1
MORE Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantries are coming up, and they might well become a familiar sight in the HDB heartland if traffic congestion does not ease.
One new gantry will start operating in the mornings at the first stretch of the new Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway when it opens on Oct 26, while another four will be activated from Nov 1.
Seven more will be erected, including four in the heartlands of Toa Payoh, Upper Boon Keng, Kallang Bahru and Geylang Bahru, by early next year.
But they will not be activated unless traffic crawls at speeds of below 20kmh.
The 12 new gantries bring the total number to 62. And there might be more roads which motorists will have to pay to drive on.
The Land Transport Authority is monitoring speeds along six other stretches of road, from Holland Village to Telok Blangah, to see if gantries need to go up there too.
Related Video Link - http://tinyurl.com/2njt85ERP 'In Operation' - more gantries, more hours
Motorists - brace yourself to pay more to use the roads, with more ERP points and longer operational hours in the offing.
Adding to the existing 50 ERP gantries across the island will be nine new ones - four to be activated by November, the rest on standby until traffic speeds fall below the optimal range.
It is also hoping to ease the ever-present chokepoint at the southbound Central Expressway (CTE) before Braddell Road by extending ERP operating hours - from 7am to 11am, up from 7.30am to 9.30am.
Transport Minister Raymond Lim yesterday acknowledged that electronic road pricing is not popular with motorists.
'But I think Singaporeans understand that if you want smooth-going roads, car ownership growth, then this is the trade-off.'
He spelt out the plus points of the ERP system, which is being adopted in some form by cities such as London, Stockholm and New York.
By controlling usage, more cars can go on the road. Vehicle registration taxes have also come down in the past decade, he noted.
The Government collected $1.7 billion worth of vehicle taxes last year, down from $3.4 billion in 1997, the year before ERP was introduced.
And from next month, road taxes will fall by 8 per cent.
On the other hand, annual ERP revenue amounts to about $90 million, indicating that motorists are paying less overall.
'ERP is meant to be a congestion and not a revenue measure, so if motorists drive less and the roads are smooth-flowing, the Government will be happy to collect less,' he said after a tour of the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway yesterday morning.
Besides ERP, the Government will be taking a big picture view, looking at all aspects of land transport to arrive at a 'holistic' game plan in its ongoing review.
As far as cars go, the balance between vehicle growth rates, usage charges and ownership taxes will be scrutinised. The definition of 'optimal speed' will also be looked at.
Findings of the review will be made known early next year. But the minister hinted yesterday that 'significant changes' will have to be made to keep our city 'liveable'.
The Government had already indicated that it will be revising the 3 per cent annual allowable vehicle growth rate, introduced in 1990. The new rate - which motor industry observers reckon will be lower - will take effect from 2009.
Mr Lim pointed out that roads already take up 12 per cent of land space - the same as housing - and the expansion of the network will be halved to 0.5 per cent a year over the next 15 years.
'As long as we want more cars on the roads, ERP coverage will invariably get more extensive and charges higher over time,' Mr Lim said.
Motorist Chong Gim Huat, 45, chief executive of a telecoms company, does not think the changes will help. 'It won't solve the problem. They already have so many gantries on the CTE and it's still jammed.'
But Automobile Association of Singapore president Bernard Tay welcomes the more comprehensive ERP coverage.
'It's good. It means more people can own cars, hopefully,' he said.
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