International Symposium on Road Pricing 2003 Evaluation of Singapore’s Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) System (1998 - present) A P G Menon MSI Global Pte Ltd

Singapore Area 650 sq km Road length 3800 km Vehicles 705,000 Car:population ratio 1 : 10 Modal split (% age) 65:35 work trips 52:48 all trips Veh speeds 25-30 kph city 45-60 kph expressways

Electronic Road Pricing Aim is to charge vehicles for the use of the road at times and at places of congestion For congestion management Not for raising revenue Every entry or pass under a control point is automatically charged a fee

Number of Control points City (7.2 sq. km) Expressways & other major roads ERP overhead gantries 28 (a cordon around the city) 14 congested locations Operation hours 7:30 am - 7:00 pm on weekdays 7:30 am – 9:30 am on weekdays

ERP Gantry at control point

Types of Invehicle Units (IU) Colour-coded for different types of vehicles Uses passenger car unit (pcu) for fixing charges Car = 1 pcu, Motorcycle = 0.5 pcu, Truck = 1.5 pcu , Bus = 2 pcu 8

CashCards (for payment) A pre-paid stored value ic chip card managed by a consortium of local banks Top-up cash at Automated Teller Machines and petrol stations

ERP Control Centre 24-hour monitoring of street equipment Settlement of financial transactions with CashCard provider at end of each day Processing of violations and errors

Simple Instructions for Motorists At start of journey, insert CashCard into the IU (fixed permanently and powered by vehicle battery). This does a health check of IU and CashCard . On going under the ERP gantries, the cash balance after ERP charge deduction is shown on IU display for 10 secs. 9

How does ERP work? Local Controller Housing Central Computer System Comms. Controller AVID Controller 1st Antenna Controller ECS Site Controller Detector Controller 2nd Antenna Controller In-vehicle Unit

How does it work? Detector Controller Local Controller Housing Central Computer System Comms. Controller AVID Controller Antenna Controller ECS Site Controller Detector Controller Antenna Controller Detector Controller In-vehicle Unit

How does it work? Local Controller Housing Central Computer System Comms. Controller AVID Controller Antenna Controller ECS Site Controller Detector Controller Antenna Controller

Choices offered by ERP Pay and enjoy good ride Change time to pay less/nothing Change route to non-priced roads Change mode Change destination Abandon trip

Business Model Capital cost: S$197million (1998) Annual Operating cost: S$16m Annual Revenue: S$80m Manpower: 30 staff for operations 35 dedicated staff for maintenance (US $1 = S $1.76)

Violations & Errors Monthly ERP transactions 6 million Daily Violations - 5 per 1,000 transactions No IUs - Fine of S$70 No CashCards - Administrative Charge of S$10 Daily Errors - 5 per 10,000 transactions No fines. Motorists asked to have IUs inspected and CashCards checked A third are human errors

Adjustment of ERP charges (in half-hour slots) Balance between congestion and usage Review charges at 3-monthly intervals From 50 cents to S$3.00 per pass/entry 65 kph 45 kph Increase Decrease Expressways 30 kph 20 kph Increase Decrease City&Other Roads

Motorist’s Issues How reliable is technology? IU not sufficiently user-friendly Cap maximum ERP fee per day Request for centralised monthly bills (instead of paying each time) Exemption for motorcycles Do not extend coverage of ERP Tracking movements?

Ramifications Better traffic flow with good speeds A shift towards public transport Motorcyclists affected more by price Rush at pre- and post-ERP periods Rush on non-priced alternative roads Loitering ahead of ERP gantries at fee change-over times

Lessons Road pricing is viable Sell road pricing as a part of a total transportation package Use proven technology Make it simple and publicise Safeguards to prevent tracking Logical method to change rates Provide convenient alternatives Make provisions for foreign vehicles Road pricing is viable 12

Thank you