The Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system is an electronic toll collection scheme adopted in Singapore to manage traffic by way of road pricing, and as a usage-based taxation mechanism to complement the purchase-based Certificate of Entitlement system. There are a total of 93 ERP gantries located throughout the country, along expressways and roads leading towards the Central Area. [1] As of February 2023, there were a total of 19 ERP gantries in operation, as compared to 77 in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore. [2]
The ERP was implemented by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on April 1, 1998 [3] to replace the preceding Singapore Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) that was first introduced on 11 August 1974 after successfully stress-testing the system with vehicles running at high speed. The system uses open road tolling; vehicles do not stop or slow down to pay tolls. [4] [5]
Singapore was the first city in the world to implement an electronic road toll collection system for purposes of congestion pricing. [6] Its use has inspired other cities around the world in adopting a similar system, particularly London's Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) and Stockholm's congestion tax. [7] It has also been proposed in New York City and San Francisco.
The scheme consists of ERP gantries located at all roads linking into Singapore's Central Area. They are also located along the expressways and arterial roads with heavy traffic to discourage usage during peak hours. 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. As of August 23, 2023, there were 93 ERP gantries in Singapore. [1] New gantries are implemented where congestion is severe, like expressways and other roads.
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 NETS CashCard, is inserted for payment of the road usage charges. [5] The second generation IU accepts Contactless NETS FlashPay and EZ-Link. The cost of an IU is S$150. It is mandatory for all Singapore-registered vehicles to be fitted with an IU if they wish to use the priced roads.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd sold the IU 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.
When a vehicle equipped with an IU passes under an ERP gantry, a road usage charge is deducted from the CashCard in the IU. 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 ERP 2.0 system is a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) based system, as opposed to the current system with physical gantries located along expressways, as well as roads and arterial roads leading to the CBD. [8] With the new system, the ERP scheme will move towards a distance based charging policy, instead of the current system, where a fixed toll is charged when vehicles pass through a physical ERP gantry. [9] The system also shows real-time traffic information, couponless parking and automatic payment. [9] There will be no need for big gantries when the system starts, with current IU systems replaced by onboard units (OBUs) with one-piece units for motorcycles and three-piece units for other vehicles. [10] [11] [12] [13]
Joinly developed by NCS Group and MHI Engine System, the Onboard Unit (OBU) will be rolled out in phases and the installation is slated to be completed by 2025. [14] The OBU will consist of 3 components for all vehicles, except for motorcycles, which will remain a 1 piece unit. The 3 piece units consists of an antenna, processing unit and a touchscreen display. The antenna and touchscreen display will be affixed on the lower right corner of the front windscreen within sight of the driver, while the processing unit is located on the right side of the passenger side footwell for the 3 piece unit. Vehicle owners can choose to not install the touchscreen display, but will be unable to adjust the volume of the OBU, other features such as a future payment system that will be introduced to the OBU, live traffic data and updates, can be accessed via smartphone applications developed with software development kits released by LTA. [14] Road users will be able to use Contactless e-Purse Application Specification (CEPAS) cards, such as the EZ-Link Motoring card, a standard EZ-Link card, as well as NETS FlashPay and Nets Motoring cards which can be inserted into the processing unit. The NETS CashCard will no longer be compatible with the OBU system. [15]
LTA announced that the distance-based charging policy will not be implemented in the near future, with no concrete date on when the new policy will take place. [16] The current ERP charges will remain the same, with the OBUs able to work the same as the IUs when passing through a physical ERP gantry. [15] The physical gantries will be removed in phases after the installation of OBUs is completed in all vehicles. [14]
The charge for passing through a gantry depends on the location and time, the peak hour being the most expensive. Examples include a trip from Woodlands to Raffles Place via Yishun – CTE – CBD will cost about S$15 during peak as the driver will pass about 5 gantries, whereas during lunchtime, it will cost about S$2. Foreign visitors driving foreign-registered private vehicles on priced roads, during the ERP operating hours, could choose to either rent an IU or pay a daily flat fee of S$5 regardless how many ERP gantries entered, the payment is done and information is stored by Autopass Card until the vehicle leaves Singapore. Foreign-registered commercial vehicles, however, are required to install an IU.
If a vehicle owner does not have sufficient value in their CashCard (or EZ-Link) when passing through an ERP, the owner receives a fine by post within two weeks. The violator must pay the ERP charges plus a $10 administration fee within two weeks of the notice. Online payment is allowed; listing just the Vehicle Registration Number is required. Otherwise, a penalty of S$70 is issued by registered post to the vehicle owner, which rises to S$1000, or one month in jail, if not settled within 30 days.
According to a paper presented in the World Roads Conference 2006, the LTA 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".
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.[ citation needed ]
In an effort to improve the pricing mechanism and to introduce real-time variable pricing, [17] Singapore's Land Transport Authority, together with IBM, ran a pilot from December 2006 to April 2007, with a traffic estimation and prediction tool (TrEPS), which uses historical traffic data and real-time feeds with flow conditions from several sources, to predict the levels of congestion up to an hour in advance. By accurate estimating prevailing and emerging traffic conditions, this technology is expected to allow variable pricing, together with improved overall traffic management, including the provision of information in advance to alert drivers about conditions ahead, and the prices being charged at that moment. [18]
This new system integrates with the various LTA's traffic management existing systems, such as the Green Link Determining System (GLIDE), TrafficScan, Expressway Monitoring Advisory System (EMAS), Junction Electronic Eyes (J-Eyes), [19] and the Electronic Road Pricing system. The pilot results were successful, showing overall prediction results above 85 percent of accuracy. Furthermore, when more data was available, during peak hours, average accuracy raised near or above 90 percent from 10 minutes up to 60 minutes predictions in the future. [20]
During 2020, ERP was mostly suspended due to circuit breaker measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore. [21]
In 2010, Transport Minister Raymond Lim announced a new ERP system was being considered and a tender for the new system to be announced later. [22] Subsequently, a tender was called and in 2016, NCS and MHI Engine System was awarded the contract to install the system at S$556 million, which is less than ST Electronics's bid of S$1.2 billion. [9] The new ERP system was to start rolling out from 2020.
The initial design of the OBU for other vehicles were criticised as "clunky, inelegant and takes up too much space". [23]
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore in 2020, the fitting of the new OBUs was delayed to the second half of 2021 with the new ERP system operational in mid 2023. [13]
In November 2021, the deployment was delayed again to the second half of 2023 due to a global shortage of microchips for the OBUs. [24]
In October 2023, LTA announced ERP 2.0, a satellite navigation based system, to replace the ERP system. [25] All vehicles are expected to be fitted with the new on-board units by end of 2025 but the system will not be turned on till further notice. [25] For OBU, vehicle owners can opt out of the touchscreen display component and the information needed can be retrieved by other existing mobile applications. [26] After all the vehicles are installed with the new OBU, existing ERP gantries will be removed with new visual markers or signs to indicate ERP charging locations. [27]
A study on the long-term effects of congestion pricing in Singapore claimed that "traffic congestion had not been eliminated—it had merely been shifted in time and location" and that the average travel time has increased. [28]
In contrast, another report stated 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 and public transport 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. [29]
In some cases, the implementation of an ERP gantry along a road may move the traffic to outer roads or shift would-be car users towards public transport. One instance of this is that the ERP gantries have been said to have caused traffic to increase substantially in the arterial roads. In response, congestion on the East Coast Parkway was relieved with the opening of Marina Coastal Expressway on 29 December 2013. The rising traffic has prompted the LTA to encourage more Singaporeans to switch to public transport as part of the country's general "car-lite society" plan, by building more MRT train lines and introducing more bus services. [30] [31] The full completion of the Downtown MRT line on 21 October 2017 complements the Pan Island Expressway. The Thomson–East Coast MRT line also runs largely parallel to the Seletar Expressway and East Coast Parkway.
In Ontario, Canada, an electronic road pricing system is used on Highway 407 to collect tolls electronically and billed to the owner of the car by taking a picture of its license plate. [32]
The ERP 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. [7]
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. [33] The congestion tax was implemented on a permanent basis on 1 August 2007, [34] [35] after a seven-month trial period was held between 3 January 2006 and 31 July 2006. [36]
In 2007, Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, implemented a corridor congestion pricing scheme called Salik which works on similar principles. In January 2008, Milan introduced a traffic charge scheme as a one-year trial, called Ecopass, and exempts high emission standard vehicles and some alternate fuel vehicles. [37] [38] [39] This tax was substituted in 2012 by the Area C system, which places a charge on nearly all vehicles entering the city centre during weekdays.
A similar system is expected to be operational on selected roads in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia by early 2019. [40] [41] [42]
Payment | Acceptance | Authorised sources | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st Gen IU | 2nd Gen IU | OBU | |||
Autopass Card | Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints | Non-Singapore registered vehicles only | |||
CBT EZ-Link and Concession Card | Ticketing Offices | CEPAS platform. Will be phased out when all vehicles move to OBU and when all cards have to transit to SimplyGo platform as below (under SimplyGo EZ-Link and Concession Card). | |||
SimplyGo EZ-Link and Concession Card | Ticketing Offices | ||||
EZ-Link x Touch n' Go Card | Ticketing Offices | CEPAS platform. Will be phased out when all vehicles move to OBU and when all cards have to transit to SimplyGo platform. | |||
EZ-Link Motoring | Ticketing Offices | CEPAS platform. Will be phased out when all vehicles move to OBU and when all cards have to transit to SimplyGo platform. | |||
NETS Motoring | Ticketing Offices, Convenience Stores (7-11, Cheers, Buzz), Airport & Ferry Terminals | ||||
NETS Contactless CashCard | Ticketing Offices, Convenience Stores (7-11, Cheers, Buzz), Airport & Ferry Terminals | ||||
NETS Prepaid | Ticketing Offices, Convenience Stores (7-11, Cheers, Buzz), Airport & Ferry Terminals | ||||
NETS FlashPay | Ticketing Offices, Convenience Stores (7-11, Cheers, Buzz), Airport & Ferry Terminals | CEPAS platform. Will be phased out when all vehicles move to OBU and when all cards have to transit to SimplyGo platform as above (under NETS Prepaid). | |||
Mastercard | Banks | ||||
Visa | Banks | ||||
NETS Tap | Banks | ||||
NETS CashCard (1st generation) | Not Available | Obsolete | |||
American Express | Banks |
Transportation in Singapore is predominantly land-based, with a comprehensive network of roads making many parts of the city-state, including islands such as Sentosa and Jurong Island, accessible. The road network is complemented by a robust rail system consisting of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and the Light Rail Transit (LRT), which cover the length and width of Singapore and serve a few neighbourhoods respectively. The main island of Singapore is also connected to other islands via ferryboat services. Furthermore, the city-state maintains strong international connections through two bridges linking it to Malaysia – the Causeway and the Second Link – and the Singapore Changi Airport, a major aviation hub in Asia.
A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway or toll gate, is a public or private road for which a fee is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and maintenance.
Road pricing are direct charges levied for the use of roads, including road tolls, distance or time-based fees, congestion charges and charges designed to discourage the use of certain classes of vehicle, fuel sources or more polluting vehicles. These charges may be used primarily for revenue generation, usually for road infrastructure financing, or as a transportation demand management tool to reduce peak hour travel and the associated traffic congestion or other social and environmental negative externalities associated with road travel such as air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, visual intrusion, noise pollution and road traffic collisions.
Congestion pricing or congestion charges is a system of surcharging users of public goods that are subject to congestion through excess demand, such as through higher peak charges for use of bus services, electricity, metros, railways, telephones, and road pricing to reduce traffic congestion; airlines and shipping companies may be charged higher fees for slots at airports and through canals at busy times. Advocates claim this pricing strategy regulates demand, making it possible to manage congestion without increasing supply.
The Singapore Area Licensing Scheme (ALS), was a road pricing scheme introduced from 1975 to 1998 that charged drivers who were entering downtown Singapore, and thereby aimed to manage traffic demand. This was the first urban traffic congestion pricing scheme to be successfully implemented in the world. This scheme affected all roads entering a 6-square-kilometre area in the Central Business District (CBD) called the "Restricted Zone" (RZ), later increased to 7.25 square kilometres to include areas that later became commercial in nature. The scheme was later replaced in 1998 by the Electronic Road Pricing.
Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing toll booths, where vehicles must stop and the driver manually pays the toll with cash or a card. In most systems, vehicles using the system are equipped with an automated radio transponder device. When the vehicle passes a roadside toll reader device, a radio signal from the reader triggers the transponder, which transmits back an identifying number which registers the vehicle's use of the road, and an electronic payment system charges the user the toll.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Transport of the Government of Singapore.
The EZ-Link card is a rechargeable contactless smart card and electronic money system that is primarily used as a payment method for public transport such as bus and rail lines in Singapore. A standard EZ-Link card is a credit-card-sized stored-value contact-less smart-card that comes in a variety of colours, as well as limited edition designs. It is sold by TransitLink Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of the Land Transport Authority (LTA), and can be used on travel modes across Singapore, including the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), the Light Rail Transit (LRT), public buses which are operated by SBS Transit, SMRT Buses, Tower Transit Singapore and Go-Ahead Singapore, as well as the Sentosa Express.
The East Coast Parkway is an expressway that runs along the southeastern coast of Singapore. It is approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) in length. As of July 2022, it is Singapore's third-longest expressway.
The Certificate of Entitlement (COE) is the quota licence for owning a vehicle in Singapore. The licence is obtained from a successful winning bid in an open bid uniform price auction which grants the legal right of the holder to register, own and use a vehicle in Singapore for a period of 10 years. When demand is high, the cost of a COE can exceed the value of the car itself. The COE system was implemented in 1990 to regulate the number of vehicles on the road and control traffic congestion, especially in a land-constrained country such as Singapore.
Open road tolling (ORT), also called all-electronic tolling, cashless tolling, or free-flow tolling, is the collection of tolls on toll roads without the use of toll booths. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead. The major advantage to ORT is that users are able to drive through the toll plaza at highway speeds without having to slow down to pay the toll. In some installations, ORT may also reduce congestion at the plazas by allowing more vehicles per hour/per lane.
The Stockholm congestion tax, also referred to as the Stockholm congestion charge, is a congestion pricing system implemented as a tax levied on most vehicles entering and exiting central Stockholm, Sweden. The congestion tax was implemented on a permanent basis on August 1, 2007, after a seven-month trial period between January 3, 2006 and July 31, 2006. It was inspired by Singapore's Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system, which was first introduced as the Area Licensing Scheme in 1975.
Autopass Card is a stored-value smart card for paying VEP fees, toll charges and ERP fees in Singapore. The card can only be sold to foreign motorists. As vehicle information is encoded in the card, it is not transferable between vehicles. It can also act as a NETS CashCard or NETS FlashPay card for all NETS retail transactions, and paying carparks that use the Electronic Parking System.
Network for Electronic Transfers, colloquially known as NETS, is a Singaporean electronic payment service provider. Founded in 1986 by a consortium of local banks, it aims to establish the debit network and drive the adoption of electronic payments in Singapore. It is owned by DBS Bank, OCBC Bank and United Overseas Bank (UOB).
In Singapore, cars and other vehicles drive on the left side of the road, as in neighbouring Malaysia, due to its British colonial history. As a result, most vehicles are right-hand drive. However, exemptions have been made to allow foreign vehicles and construction machineries to utilise the roadspace of Singapore. As such, vehicles with left hand drive configurations are required to either be driven with a sign indicating "LEFT-HAND-DRIVE" or towed.
The Marina Coastal Expressway is the tenth of Singapore's network of expressways. Construction for the MCE began in 2008 and was completed at the end of 2013. The expressway was officially opened on 28 December that year by Senior Minister of State Josephine Teo in the presence of Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, and was opened for vehicular traffic the next day.
The HGV toll is the tolling scheme for heavy goods vehicles traversing Autobahn road usage with trucks. Charges are based on the distance driven in kilometres, the emission category of the vehicle and the number of axles.
GNSS road pricing or GNSS-based tolling is the charging of road users using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) sensors inside vehicles. Road pricing using GNSS simplifies distance-based tolling for all types of roads in a tolled road network since it does not require the installation and operation of roadside infrastructure, such as tollbooths or microwave-based toll gantries. Instead, all vehicles required to pay the distance-based fees are equipped with an On Board Unit (OBU).
Electronic road pricing is an electronic toll collection scheme first proposed in Hong Kong as early as in the 1980s to manage traffic by congestion pricing.
The multi-lane free flow(MLFF) is a system that allows free-flow high-speed tolling for all highway users. With MLFF, current toll lanes at toll plazas can be replaced with ordinary multilane road segments. By using tags with readers at gantry across the highway to detect vehicles and deduct tolls using the existing Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) when fully implemented. Using only video and automatic license plate recognition it is also possible to have a MLFF system without using tags and readers. This type of solution is implemented in Stockholm for congestion charging purposes.
Library resources about Electronic Road Pricing |