CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT AND ELECTRONIC ROAD PRICING CHARGES (Payment by taxis)

Mr J. B. Jeyaretnam asked the Minister for Communications whether the policy of requiring taxis to pay Central Business District and Electronic Road Pricing charges defeats the Government's purpose for introducing such charges.

The Minister of State for Communications (Dr John Chen Seow Phun) (for the Minister for Communications): Mr Speaker, Sir, the primary objective of the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system is to bring about smooth traffic flow. With ERP, motorists are charged for their use of congested roads. This will make the cost of travelling more evident and encourage drivers to consciously plan their trips and consider alternative modes and times of travel. This is the rationale for the ERP system. This way, we can keep the crucial arterial roads and expressways relatively smooth flowing.

For road pricing to work, it must apply to all vehicles in order to be fair and effective and to keep road pricing charges to the minimum. Taxi drivers and commuters would then decide on the best route to take, as well as the basis of cost-sharing for road pricing, in order to enjoy the benefit of faster travel on the roads. To help taxis and commercial vehicles, I would like to inform the Member that the ERP charges are phased over three to four years.

Mr Jeyaretnam: I am indebted to the Minister for his explanation. But the question still remains. As I understand the Minister, the purpose was to try and keep mainly users of private cars from roads which get congested in the mornings and evenings. But is it not the intention that they should switch to public service vehicles rather than use their cars, and are taxis not public service vehicles, no less than buses?

Dr John Chen Seow Phun: Sir, it is true that we want to encourage commuters to take public transport and we have spent a lot of resources and efforts in promoting public transport. But we must also recognise that public transport vehicles do compete for road space and contribute to traffic congestion. As ERP is a traffic management tool, it is not appropriate to exempt them or reduce the ERP rates for taxis relative to other vehicles. In fact, the buses are also paying the ERP charges depending on the size of the bus. It has a pcu (passenger car unit) of two, so the bus is actually paying two times the charges compared to private cars. But of course, we are phasing in over four years. And bus is a more efficient transport. Therefore, the cost per commuter will actually be very, very small. For taxis, it is different. Taxis provide a point-to-point personalised form of transport service with comfort levels comparable to that of cars and occupy the same road space as cars. So taxi commuters would therefore pay the same ERP rates as if they were using their cars. Nonetheless, in recognition of the role of taxis as a form of public transport, albeit a personalised one, the full ERP charges for taxis will be phased in over three years to help taxi drivers and commuters to adjust.

Mr Jeyaretnam: Is it not the Ministry's intention then to force people who can afford to pay taxi fares to travel on buses?

Dr John Chen Seow Phun: We will let the commuters decide what kind of service they want, what price they want to pay, and if you look at our public transport fares, whether it is MRT, bus or even taxis, and compare them to other countries, I think Singapore's public transport fares are very, very affordable.

Mr Jeyaretnam: We get this answer every time, Mr Speaker, Sir. The prices in Singapore are very, very affordable. But does the Ministry realise that even a small payment can be a burden on families which cannot even find enough to live on?

Dr John Chen Seow Phun: That is why we have a choice of a wide range of services and after all, Sir, I do not see the relevance of this question to the Question that he is asking about taxis.