The first five of the 16 new Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantries for the year will start operating on Monday, and Toa Payoh will become the first heartland area to have an ERP gantry at its doorstep.
All the new gantries, including the one at Toa Payoh, will start with S$1 charge during morning peak hours. Some stores in the centrally located town are expecting an impact on their businesses when the gantry is switched on from 8am to 9am.
"Nowadays people don't want to go out. Remember, if you go out, you must pay. Go there, pay. Go here, also pay. So if people don't have a reason to go out, they won't. And that makes it tough on business," said a storekeeper.
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However, many said they can't tell just yet what impact the new ERP gantry will have on businesses.
"It will affect (us) more or less. But how many per cent I can't really tell because... this is the first time we encounter this kind of thing," said a medicine shopkeeper.
A money changer agreed: "I don't know how it's going to affect (us). I am not sure."
"It's definitely going to affect the morning crowd... as they may not have time to come after work," said someone who works at a pet shop.
Others are not as concerned, especially since their shops open after 9am when the gantry is switched off, and expect to be unaffected by the morning ERP.
"I open at 11, so (it) does not affect me so much," said a small business owner.
"Usually the crowds come here at lunch hour," said another.
The new ERP gantries at Upper Bukit Timah Road, Upper Boon Keng Road, Geylang Bahru and Kallang Bahru will also be switched on Monday. - CNA/ac
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