ELECTRONIC ROAD PRICING ALONG CENTRAL EXPRESSWAY

ELECTRONIC ROAD PRICING ALONG CENTRAL EXPRESSWAY:

(Efficacy in alleviating traffic congestion): 14.

Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for Transport if he will give an assessment of the efficacy of Electronic Road Pricing in alleviating traffic congestion along the Central Expressway.

The Minister for Transport (Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat): Mr Speaker, Sir, the implementation of ERP along the northbound and southbound CTE has helped keep average speeds within the optimal range of 45-65 kph during the morning and evening peak period. The average speeds on the alternative arterial roads are also within the threshold speeds of 20-30 kph.

While traffic may still be heavy on the CTE, the average speeds are better than before ERP was imposed. For example, before evening ERP was implemented, average speeds were about 25 kph during the period from 6.30 pm to 7.30 pm when traffic flow was heaviest. With the ERP, the speeds have crossed 45 kph, which is within our optimal speed range. If we had not implemented evening ERP, we would expect that average speeds would have gone down to well below 25 kph by now, possibly resulting in a gridlock situation.

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However, the situation is never static, as the improvement in travel speed will wear off over time as the car population grows and more drivers feel that it is worthwhile paying the charge for the reduction in traveling time. Hence, the LTA needs to constantly monitor the traffic situation and make timely adjustments to deal with it.

Ms Sylvia Lim (Non-Constituency Member): Sir, I think if we look at the history of the ERP rate adjustments along the CTE, we can see that there has actually been a steady increase from 1999 to-date. In fact, for some gantries, the rates have gone up from $2 to $4, and it has actually been particularly acute from August last year to February this year when there was the latest round of increase. So, Sir, it appears that the cars are still coming back onto the CTE. And because of this, I have a few supplementary questions.

The first is that it seems to me that the residential population in the north and northeast of Singapore will continue to grow, based on the fact that there are still empty flats in some housing estates, as well as new condominium developments. So does the Minister agree with me that we can expect further demand to use the CTE city-bound, and also in the evenings coming back towards the north?

Secondly, Sir, all car users receive the same rebates for the implementation of ERP. And I wonder if the Minister would agree with me that users of the CTE, paying the highest rates, actually are bearing a disproportionate amount of the road charges for living in the north and having to work in the city.

Thirdly, Sir, can the Minister tell us if there are any plans to control the car population, whether by way of COEs

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available or, perhaps, reviewing the financing rules on vehicle ownership?

Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat: I think it is useful to look at this issue in perspective. When it comes to the problem of urban transport, there is no single solution. So you often need a holistic approach to solve it. The issue with the CTE is that, basically, you have demand for road space during peak period where the demand exceeds the supply. It is finite - the particular road space. And how is the best way to deal with it? Well, the best way, the most direct way, is through a pricing mechanism. So you have a choice: you decide whether you want to travel during that particular period of time or change the time; to use a different mode of travel, a different route, or not to make that particular trip at all. You are given a choice. So, that is the most efficient way, but, by itself, it is not enough. You need other measures.

So, in response to her first question, developments in the north and northeast sector, do we take that into account, yes, we work very closely with MND on this, because it is really urban planning, eg, where the residential sites are, where the business centres and commercial centres are, etc, and then we build the infrastructure accordingly. So for the north, northeast sector, besides the CTE, we are going to build the Kallang/Paya Lebar Expressway, which is new capacity, and that should help to reduce congestion. And along the CTE itself, we will be widening the CTE between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3.

The second question she has is, if you are travelling in that particular sector, are you bearing an extra cost? It is really a matter of choice. You have to decide whether or not you want to pay the charge in order to have a faster speed of travel. It is not something which is imposed on you.

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In terms of car population, that is a good question, something that we have to balance. Part of the problem is that, if the car population continues to grow, then, of course, it would put pressure on the infrastructure, and we need to strike a balance between car population growth, ERP and the amount of roads that we can put into Singapore because it is so finite. And one of the things that is worth emphasising is that we are very different from other cities. We are not a city within a country. The city is the country itself. Everything that you see in a country is within the city, whether it be business centre or military base, you cannot push it out, it is all here. So the space is extremely finite. We need to use a whole range of instruments, not just ERP pricing. We need a good road network, we need to have good public transport and proper and integrated land use and transport planning - the whole range.

Mr Low Thia Khiang (Hougang): Sir, the Minister just mentioned that the price mechanism is, to him, the best way to solving the traffic problem in the city. I would like to ask the Minister what is his response to a motorist's comment and feeling that the price mechanism employed, especially on the CTE, serves as a means to squeeze money from a motorist and, at the same time, also face the same jam? So, you pay the money but, at the same time, you also face the traffic jam. What is his comment on that?

Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat: That is actually factually inaccurate. Since we introduced the ERP, if we look at the numbers, the revenue has actually come down. Compared to the ALS, it is down by about 20 per cent. And the pricing actually changes. So, if we look at, say, since it was introduced in 1998 till now, have ERP rates gone down? Yes, it has

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gone down, various periods. In fact, in 1999 and 2003, it went down - certain periods. 2004, it went down. So it is not a revenue-raising exercise like the Member said, nor do we intend to squeeze people. We are trying to match an imbalance between the demand, as I said, for finite road space, over that period of time, and the supply. So how best to do it? And I did not say that that was the only way. I think it is the most direct way but we need other things to solve this problem. There is no silver bullet to this. So it has to be all these measures and we have to keep on adjusting them all the time to try to address this problem.

Mr Chiam See Tong (Potong Pasir): Does the Minister know that at the ERP gantry at the CTE and Braddell Road junction, there is always a traffic jam, both in the afternoon and in the morning?

Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat: You are talking before the gantry point? At the gantry point?

Mr Chiam See Tong: Yes.

Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat: Actually, it starts to thin down, because I have gone down there. You are talking before the run up to the gantry point?

Mr Chiam See Tong: Yes.

Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat: Yes, it gets congested and we are monitoring that. We have to monitor to see the speed. LTA had to make a decision where to put the gantry point. If you put it further down, where you are suggesting, then you will not catch the flow of traffic from the PIE into the CTE. So they put it further up, to catch that flow, rather than further down. But that is something that they are constantly monitoring.

Ms Sylvia Lim: Sir, I wonder if the Minister can comment on some feedback

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from the public about the evening ERP on the CTE, that is, that people moving from the CTE northwards towards Yishun, for example, some are prepared to pay the evening charge in the hope of getting a smoother ride home. But they have found that after passing the evening gantry near Braddell Road, there are other motorists who are apparently wiser, evading the gantry and entering the CTE through Ang Mo Kio Avenues 1 or 3, causing a holdup at the northbound end. So they feel kind of cheesed off that they paid the charge but are facing the jam at the northbound end. I wonder if the Ministry has verified whether there is validity in this and what can we do about that.

Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat: I am not sure whether the Member is suggesting that we put up more gantries to cut it all off. As I have said, you have to decide where you want to put the gantries.

Mr Speaker: Do you want to clarify your question?

Ms Sylvia Lim: Sir, I think the point of the motorists is that when they pay the charge to move northwards, they expect that all motorists would be treated fairly if they are going in the same direction. So for people to just escape the gantry and then cause the jam further up, it is not fair to those who have paid just maybe a kilometre down.

Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat: As I have said, when we put in the ERP, we give a choice to the motorists on the different routes that they can take. If the Member is suggesting that we start to monitor all access points and then put up the gantry points at all these points, it would make it very onerous for motorists. That means, basically, it is shutting it all off. That is why I said it is better to monitor it and basically take into account the major access points into the CTE.