ROAD PRICING FOR EAST COAST PARKWAY (Revenue generated)

Mr Imram bin Mohamed asked the Minister for Communications how much revenue is expected to be generated annually from the road pricing for the East Coast Parkway and whether revenue from this and other manual road pricing yet to be introduced will be channelled back to road users.

Mr Mah Bow Tan: Sir, it is too early to estimate the annual revenue from the Road Pricing Scheme (RPS) at the East Coast Parkway, as the scheme has only started and the overall traffic situation has yet to stabilise.

The objective of the RPS is not to generate revenue, but to manage the use of our expressways and arterial roads so that they are kept free of congestion. These roads are our major commercial arteries. If they are choked, time will be wasted, costs will go up, and pollution will increase. As expressway pricing is a new concept to Singaporeans, we have started with the lowest possible fee we think is necessary to achieve our objective. We have also kept the operating hours short and started with only one expressway. My Ministry will monitor the scheme closely, and make adjustments if necessary. When the scheme has settled down and is clearly able to meet its objective, we can consider extending it to other expressways.

Road usage charges such as Area Licensing and RPS fees reflect the costs which motorists impose on society as a whole - loss of productivity, time wasted, air and noise pollution. Therefore, it is only fair that the revenue collected go into public coffers to be used for the benefit of the whole society, including improving transport infrastructure such as roads, overhead bridges, walkways, bus interchanges, MRT systems and so on.

Mr Imram bin Mohamed (Nominated Member): Sir, motorists are already quite heavily burdened with the purchase of a car and subsequent running costs, including one of the highest road taxes in the world. Is it fair to increase the burden further by charging the road users? After all, road pricing is a form of road tax. Should not revenues collected from road usage be passed back to motorists through perhaps a reduction in road tax?

Mr Mah Bow Tan: Sir, there are two issues that the Member has raised. First, is the question of fairness, whether motorists are being unfairly penalised because of this additional RPS fee. To that, Sir, I would say that it is a fairer system. Because in the case of the road pricing scheme, it is the user of that particular road at that particular time and the cost which that particular usage imposes on the rest of the motorists and on society as a whole, that is being charged for. If the motorist does not use that particular stretch of road, if he switches to public transport, if he uses another stretch of road or if he changes his time of travel, he does not need to pay. So the question of fairness actually does not come into the picture here.

The second point that the Member has raised, and which I have answered in my answer just now is, where does the money go to? In this case, as I have pointed out, the money goes to improving public transport infrastructure, building of MRT lines, construction of roads, highways, bridges, expansion of expressways, etc. I think the money is put to good use, provided we are able to justify it. At the same time, I must also add that it goes into public coffers so that that money is also used for other purposes for the public good.

Mr Heng Chiang Meng: Sir, I would like to ask the Minister whether there has been any monitoring done so far on the success of this scheme. In particular, (1) by how much has the traffic along that particular route been reduced; (2) by how much has the traffic along the alternative routes been increased because of the RPS on the ECP; and (3) whether there has been any net change for the better if we combine the two?

Mr Mah Bow Tan: Sir, the scheme was implemented on 1st June 1995. So it is roughly five weeks since we started. Under the circumstances, it is a little bit too early for us to answer the questions that the Member raised just now. At the same time, in the interim period, there have been some changes in the travelling pattern of motorists as a result of the reopening of schools. In any survey, we need to factor that in. But we are certainly monitoring the situation and as and when the situation stabilises, we will be able to form a clearer picture of what is the real impact of the various plans that we have made, and that is the appropriate time for us to come back to the Member and answer those questions.