ELECTRONIC ROAD PRICING

ELECTRONIC ROAD PRICING:

(Shift in use): 3.

Mdm Cynthia Phua asked the Minister for Transport whether there is a shift in the use of the Electronic Road Pricing from an instrument of controlling road congestion to one of controlling car usage on the roads.

The Minister for Transport (Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat): Mr Speaker, Sir, Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) was introduced in 1998 to help us manage congestion on our roads, and there has been no change in our position on this. ERP is introduced or ERP rates adjusted only when congestion is experienced on our roads and expressways. This occurs when traffic speeds fall below their optimal speed ranges. The levy of ERP charges is to bring traffic speeds back within the optimal speed ranges, so that traffic flows smoothly, and we optimise the capacity of the road network.

The ERP changes that I have recently announced as part of the Land Transport Review will not shift ERP away from congestion management, but rather enhance it, so that congestion can be more effectively managed. The changes serve to better ensure that motorists will experience smooth travel on ERP-priced roads.

However, given the more pervasive congestion today and correspondingly more extensive ERP coverage, the emphasis in our transport planning must be on encouraging motorists to shift to public transport rather than to drive on alternative roads to their destination. We have therefore taken a holistic approach to tackle road congestion in our Land Transport Review and will invest heavily to improve our public transport system to make it a viable alternative to the car.

Mdm Cynthia Phua (Aljunied): Sir, can I ask the Minister to paint us the picture for the ERP in 2010? Would it be an ERP entry or would there be no gantries in one of the expressways, as what we have seen in one of the photographs that has been sent round?

Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat:

Yes, I have seen the photograph too. She is referring to the ERP gantries. Let us put it in perspective. Increasingly, because of the size of our vehicle population - 850,000 vehicles - we will not be able to do what we did in 1998.

In 1998, it was easier. We put up ERP on the expressway when there is congestion. Drivers could then take alternative arterial roads.

We did a survey from 1997 to 2004. In that time, our car population went up 10%, but usage went up more than two times. Car trips increased by 23%. We have this dubious distinction of using our cars more intensively than most of the other major capital cities. On average, a car here clocks 21,000 km a year; London, 9,100 km; Los Angeles, 19,800 km. If you have been to Los Angeles, you will know that it is a sprawling metropolis, and we beat them! So what happens? The 850,000 vehicles are growing and the cars are used intensively. Increasingly, it is not possible to simply put an ERP gantry onto an expressway and allow drivers to take the alternative roads. All these roads would be congested and have to be priced. If someone does not want to pay ERP for that particular half an hour, because the value of the money to him, say, $2 is valued more than the time he would have saved, it is a decision that he has to make. The alternative must be public transport. We need to understand that this is the scenario going ahead. This is part of our challenge and we have to manage this.

Er Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio):

Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister what is the purpose of evening ERP along the CTE. To many residents who live in Ang Mo Kio and Yishun, the CTE is the shortest way to go home and they feel that speed is no longer a critical issue when going home. Can we abolish the evening ERP along the CTE?

Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat: Like all feedback, there are different points of view. What the Member has said is one point of view - "Why have it in the evening? I do not mind getting myself caught in a traffic jam." But we have feedback from others who feel strongly that they would like to get home on time in the evening. I have received emails arguing, on the contrary, to what the Member said.

So what is the purpose of congestion pricing? Let us be clear what is the cost to us here. Congestion exacts an economic cost and an environmental cost on society. At any time of the day, this is the cost we have to pay - be it morning or evening. Similarly, we hear some people asking, "Why is it necessary to have congestion pricing in the residential estates?" If we exempt the residential estates, it means that as far as we are concerned, all that matters is that there is no congestion in the Central Business District (CBD) and expressways leading to the CBD. It does not matter whether there is gridlock or pollution in the residential estates. But there is a cost to that. Do residents want gridlock in their residential estate?

When we did our study, we visited many cities in Europe. Going ahead, the key thing here is to have a liveable city and a quality urban living environment. For many of these European cities, the residential estate is also a key priority. They put in measures there to reduce the vehicular traffic going into residential estates. In Zurich and many German cities, that is the key priority. The environment is important - where you live and where your children live. So Members have to understand why we are doing congestion pricing. It is because congestion pricing exacts a cost to the economy and to the environment - where you work and where you live.

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng (Jalan Besar): Sir, many Singaporeans would like to take public transport if it were more accessible. How does the pace of improvement of public transport compare against the pace of implementation of ERP gantries?

Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat: From now until 2020, we have major plans to transform our public transport system. We would invest very heavily in rail. We have already committed $20 billion to expand our rail network with the Downtown line, the Circle Line and the extension at Boon Lay. Going forward, we will invest another $20 billion in the Thomson Line and the Eastern Regional Line, from the north all the way down to the city, and from the city all the way to the east respectively. We would also extend the North-South and East-West lines and we would look at how best we can make infrastructural improvements so that we can run more trains on these existing lines. What it means to Singaporeans is that they will see either a new extension or a new stage of a new line every other year, all the way to 2020.

We will also effect immediate public transport improvements before we roll out the ERP changes from July 2008. As some Members are aware, we have already put in an extra 93 train trips into the existing East-West, North-South and North-East lines this month. We will increase the frequency of the basic bus system in the areas that are affected by the ERP. Right now, the headway is 15 minutes. The PTC last year had set a higher standard of 10 minutes by August 2009. But for the ERP-affected areas, we are working with the public transport operators and we will raise it to 12 minutes by June 2008. The buses will come more frequently. We will also kick up the premium bus services which, for many motorists, is an important alternative to driving. We have 40-odd premium bus services now. We are looking at increasing it to about 72. All those in the affected corridors will be given priority. These are the immediate measures that we will take.

On top of that, for the mature rail lines - the East-West and North-South lines - where the scope to increase capacity immediately is limited, we will also allow the bus services to duplicate certain segments of these lines. This is to increase capacity immediately. Again, people will have a choice.

All these will come before July 2008. LTA, based on their modelling, thinks that with the ERP changes, about 6,000-odd car passenger trips will be affected. The amount of extra public transport trips through all these public transport improvements will be three times that amount to cater for this possible displacement.

Er Lee Bee Wah: Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister what is the number of visitors to the housing estates. Is the number so large that we need to put up ERP in the evening? To the residents, as far as they are concerned, they are already paying ERP charges in the morning when they go to work.

Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat: Some of them are actually residents going back and some of them would be through-traffic. I do not have the numbers off the top of my head and we may not have such data.

Column No : 322