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

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

3. 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

4. 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

5. ERP Gantry at control point

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

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

13. 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

14. 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)

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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?

18. 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

19. 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

20. Thank you