FULL-DAY AREA LICENSING SCHEME (Reasons for introduction)

Mr Chia Shi Teck asked the Minister for Communications what are the reasons for introducing a full-day Area Licensing Scheme in the Central Business District in 1994.

Mr Mah Bow Tan: Mr Speaker, Sir, the whole-day Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) is to be introduced because congestion in the Central Business District (CBD) during the off-peak hours is becoming severe. This is not unexpected given the rising number of cars in Singapore. Rather than tighten further on ownership of vehicles, the whole-day ALS will tackle the specific problem of congestion in a specific area at a specific time through appropriate charges for use of the roads. It is a step towards the use of more extensive road pricing to control congestion and will prepare motorists for the forthcoming Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) which is expected to be ready by 1997. Through more extensive road pricing, we can then allow for a higher level of vehicle ownership without compromising on our objective of keeping congestion under control.

Motorists today enjoy a relatively congestion-free drive in the CBD during the morning and evening peak hours. However, this is not the case for the period in between. Average vehicle speeds during the non-ALS hours, especially in the afternoon, have fallen substantially by 36% to 19 kph. Some places in the CBD like Eu Tong Sen Street, Orchard Road and Bras Basah Road are already experiencing some localised congestion. The whole-day ALS will even out traffic flows into the CBD throughout the day, through differential pricing for entry at different times of the day. It will encourage motorists who may not need to be in the CBD to use alternative routes. Some may also be encouraged to use buses or MRT. The net result will be a smoother and easier ride for all road users, motorists as well as public transport users.

If the whole-day ALS succeeds in reducing congestion in the CBD, the Government will be able to allow more Singaporeans to own cars by increasing the number of COEs available.

Mr Chia Shi Teck (Nominated Member): Sir, as $2 and $3 is not very much of a difference, will the Minister envisage that the shift of the traffic will be to the peak hours and the jam will be during the peak hours?

Mr Mah Bow Tan: The proposed rates of $3 for the whole day and $2 for just the mid-day off-peak hours are premised on the fact that there will be some shift of traffic to the peak hours but it is sufficient to smoothen out the road traffic throughout the day. In other words, yes, there will be some shifting over of the traffic from the off-peak to the peak hours, as the Member has suggested, but there is still a little bit of capacity left in the peak hours to allow this to take place without undue congestion. But, nevertheless, if the differential of $1 is too small to bring this about, we will review the rate.

Mr Loh Meng See (Kampong Glam GRC): Sir, may I ask the Minister whether any concession will be given to residents living in the CBD because it would appear that they would be penalised for living within the CBD.

Mr Mah Bow Tan: Currently, Sir, the residents in the CBD do not enjoy any concession and indeed they also do not suffer any congestion during the peak hours. There is no reason for us to vary the situation when the whole-day ALS comes into being.

Mr Chiam See Tong (Potong Pasir): I have got two supplementary questions. First, does the Minister envisage that with the full-day CBD congestion in fact will be caused in the outlying areas? Second, has he considered or asked the Government to decentralize the Government departments and other facilities so that traffic will not be attracted into the CBD?

Mr Mah Bow Tan: Perhaps I will take the second question first. As the Member may be aware, it is in the overall land use policy of the Government that we try and decentralize as much as possible many of the activities. Hence, you will notice the setting up of regional centres in many of the outlying HDB estates. However, there is a limit to what can be done because some of the activities still need to be in the CBD. We cannot completely decentralize all these activities. So long as there is commercial, retail and business activity in the Central Business District which attracts traffic and people, there will be traffic congestion. The purpose of the ALS scheme in the past and the purpose of this extension of the ALS scheme is not to eliminate traffic from the CBD but rather to control it to the extent that people who want to use the road and who are willing to pay a nominal sum to use those roads can do so and enjoy smooth, congestion-free travel. That in itself is a plus. It saves them money.

Coming back to the first point that he made on whether there will be congestion in the ring roads, yes, there will be congestion in the ring roads but this is not envisaged to be serious congestion at the moment. However, it is a dynamic situation and the authorities concerned - the Public Works Department, Registry of Vehicles and the Traffic Police - will continue to monitor the situation and make adjustments as and when it is found necessary.

Mr Chia Shi Teck: The Minister has said that the shift of traffic could be from the off-peak hours to the peak hours. But because there is the off-peak period, many people could just drive into the city and do their business. Has the Minister considered the business effect in the CBD, like in the retail trade? I speak with vested interest, Sir.

Mr Mah Bow Tan: Mr Speaker, Sir, the retail trade association has been consulted and discussions have been held with the retail merchants association prior to the announcement of this scheme. The Registry of Vehicles has met and explained the rationale of the scheme. The feedback is that the retail merchants association, whilst they would prefer not to have the scheme, understands the rationale and reason behind it and they also recognise that, in the long run, we should continue to maintain the situation where the traffic flows smoothly and not deteriorate into a situation like in some other major cities where people avoid the city area because they cannot even move. While they do not welcome the scheme, they recognise and understand the need for it.