ERP Charges Collection

Mrs Lina Chiam asked the Minister for Transport from 2009 to 2011(a) what is the total amount of ERP charges collected by the Government; (b) which ERP gantry collects the highest amount of fees per day and what is the amount; and (c) which ERP gantry collects the lowest amount of fees per day and what is the amount.

The Minister for Transport (Mr Lui Tuck Yew): Let me begin by providing a recap on the purpose of Electronic Road Pricing (ERP). The ERP is a tool to manage congestion. It is not for revenue generation. The rates are set and reviewed based on the latest traffic conditions. The key measure of the effectiveness of ERP, of course, is whether it is able to keep traffic speeds within the optimal range, rather than the amount that is collected by each gantry.

The total amount collected for each Financial Year from 2009 to 2011 was about $149 million for FY 2009, $159 million for FY 2010 and $97 million up till the end of October 2011. The ERP gantries that collected the highest and lowest amount per day based on a typical month's weekday average are at Nicoll Highway for the highest and Upper Boon Keng Road for the lowest. For Nicoll Highway, it is $32,000 and for Upper Boon Keng Road, it is $130.

Mrs Lina Chiam: Sir, I thank the Minister for answering my question. I would like to ask whether these vehicles are mainly from other countries like Malaysia, or are they from Singapore, or do the figures relate to all vehicles?

Mr Lui Tuck Yew: Do I answer you now or do you have another question?

Mrs Lina Chiam: No, no. Just this question.

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Mr Lui Tuck Yew: Okay. I do not have the breakdown. This is the consolidated amount that is collected every month. I suspect that, by and large, the vast majority of it would be from Singaporean vehicles.

Mr Yee Jenn Jong: I am just curious to know what will happen to gantries that collect so little, like the Minister mentioned, the gantry at Upper Boon Keng Road. Would there be a plan to scrap gantries like this?

Mr Lui Tuck Yew: I should explain the difference, why the Nicoll Highway gantry seems to have such a high collection at $32,000 and Upper Boon Keng Road only $130 per weekday. For Upper Boon Keng Road, the gantry operates for about half an hour in the morning from 8.30 am to 9.00 am. That is the only time that it operates. The Nicoll Highway gantry operates from 7.30 am to 8.00 pm, rests two hours, and from 10.00 am to 12 noon. The durations of operation are different, and the rates are different.

The reason why we need some of these gantries, for example, like at Upper Boon Keng Road, is that they are part of an outer cordon through which vehicles have to pass in order to get to the city, and we also need to control the movement of vehicles in this direction. We have to make sure that we have a cordon that is sufficiently effective. We look at the speeds every quarter. When the speeds are above the optimal range, we have the option then to reduce the rates or to do away with it altogether, as we have done for CTE in the morning for certain hours. We have also done it for the CTE northbound, at night. The last time we looked at the Upper Boon Keng gantry, the speeds were not above the optimum range. They were within the optimum range and, hence, we continued to operate the gantry.