Impact of Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) on Traffic Congestion

Miss Penny Low asked the asked the Minister for Transport (a) what plans are there to resolve traffic congestion even though the ERP is in place; (b) whether the Ministry will consider turning off ERP gantries when there is smooth traffic flow; and (c) whether the ERP system needs to be tweaked to be more flexible and responsive to live situations on the road.

Mrs Josephine Teo (for the Minister for Transport): Sir, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) adopts an integrated and holistic package of measures to manage traffic on our roads. Besides Electronic Road Pricing (ERP), this includes enhancing the capacity of roads, for example, through road widening; and optimising traffic flows through new traffic schemes and the use of Intelligent Transport Systems, such as the Expressway Monitoring and Advisory System, commonly referred to as EMAS. These traffic management measures are complemented by our Vehicle Quota System and the improvement of public transport services.

Currently, ERP rates are reviewed every quarter – in February, May, August and November – as well as during the June and December school holidays each year. During these reviews, the ERP rates are adjusted based on the prevailing traffic situation. An optimal speed range determined by a Nanyang Technological University (NTU) study is used to guide the review. This speed range is 45 to 65 km/h for expressways and 20 to 30 km/h for arterial roads. When speeds exceed or fall below the optimal range, based on measurements carried out by LTA over a two-week period once every quarter, the ERP rates will be adjusted downwards or upwards respectively.

By and large, this should ensure that traffic should be relatively congestion-free when we have the ERP in place. However, traffic flow is dynamic. Accidents and bad weather impact road conditions and, hence, driving speeds. There is also some lag in adjusting the ERP charges as we only do these measurements once every quarter.

If traffic flow is smooth such that speeds are above the optimal range, LTA will bring down the ERP charges at the next review. For example, the ERP rate for the Central Expressway (CTE) gantry north of Braddell Road for the period 7.00am to 7.30am was recently revised downwards. If this happens repeatedly because traffic speeds are consistently above the optimal threshold, it is possible that ERP charges will fall to zero.

ERP manages congestion by influencing motorists' driving behaviour. This is possible only when motorists know the ERP rates in advance. With advance knowledge of the ERP rates, motorists can then decide whether to travel as planned, or take a different route, travel at a different time, or change their mode of travel to public transport. They can also decide to travel somewhere else or even cancel their trip completely. Hence, we fix the ERP rates for a period of time until the next cycle of review, so that motorists can make informed decisions about their choice of travel time, route or mode.

To complement the ERP system, we provide timely information to motorists as much as possible. This allows motorists wishing to avoid ERP to do so, for example, when there is severe congestion caused by incidents on the road. If they are already on the road, motorists will be alerted of incidents through the Expressway Monitoring Advisory System (EMAS) Travel Information Displays (TID) and LTA's Traffic News on the radio. Motorists can also access real-time traffic information before they begin their travel, via LTA's traffic.smart on the One.Motoring website, and adjust their travel plans accordingly.

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Miss Penny Low: Once again, I thank the Minister of State for her reply. She mentioned that there was a lag in the adjustments of rates due to the quarterly reviews and that information provided to motorists is as real-time as it can get. Some time ago, there was talk about using a GPS-based system which would provide dynamic real-time information both to the agencies as well as the motorists. Is this currently being studied? Will it be implemented in due course? The second supplementary question is on the ERP. I am happy to hear that it could even be down to zero-rated. Has there been any such experience in the past?

Mrs Josephine Teo: Sir, I thank the Member for the questions. I believe that the system the Member is referring to is ERP2. The development of the ERP2 project is still in its early stages. We awarded a tender to four consortium groups last year to conduct a system evaluation test for the next generation ERP system. The tests are still ongoing. Because when we have a very built-up city and distances travelled by motorists can be very short, we have to make sure that it can be reliably used for the purposes of road pricing. The tests are still ongoing and, even if the ERP2 system is technically feasible, it is still some years before it is ready to be launched and implemented. Once the technology is proven, we will study how we can use the ERP2 system to influence motorists' driving behaviour more effectively.

Miss Penny Low: When the GPS-based system is finally implemented, assuming that it works and will be implemented, what will happen to the physical gantries? Does it mean that they will outlive their function or will they be torn down? What will happen to them? And how much would that cost the Government?

Mrs Josephine Teo: It is a little too early to say right now. We first have to prove that the system is viable and it can be used reliably. Sir, it is too early to speculate what we will do with the gantries.