1. Road Pricing Strategy in Singapore
BAQ 2006
13–15 Dec 06, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Road Pricing Strategy in Singapore
We will cover 2 parts in this presentation. The 1st is on our vision for Singapore’s land transport, and the 2nd part will cover the specific initiatives in FY06 to achieve our vision.
Loh Chow Kuang
Deputy Director, LTA Academy
Land Transport Authority, Singapore
Website:

2. Overview Context Overall Transport Strategies Manual Road Pricing
Electronic Road Pricing
Current Achievements
Conclusion
We will cover 2 parts in this presentation. The 1st is on our vision for Singapore’s land transport, and the 2nd part will cover the specific initiatives in FY06 to achieve our vision.

3. SINGAPORE Some facts and figures
We are a small and densely populated country.

4. (LTA) One-Stop National Agency that: Policy Planning Development
Formulates policies and strategies;
Plans road & rapid transit networks to meet future travel demand;
Develops road & rail infrastructure and manages the design & construction of projects;
Manages traffic and maintains road structures & facilities; and
Regulates public transport services and vehicles.
~ 3500 staff (incl 1200 professionals)
Planning
Development
LTA was formed on 1 Sept 1995, after merging 4 organisations responsible for the development of road, rail, transport policies and regulatory functions. With the vision of developing a world class land transport system.
Management
Road
Rail
Vehicle
Bus
Taxi

5. Road/Private Transport
Road Network - 3,200 km
Expressway Network km
Vehicle Population ,000
Car Population ,000
(58%)
Cars/1000 residents
Over the last forty years, Singapore has experienced rapid growth. Our transport network has developed comprehensively to meet travel demands.
Today, we have 3100 km of road network, including 150 km of Expressway. There are 720,000 vehicles on the road. Cars constitutes 57% of the total vehicle population.

6. Growing Travel Demand
We have to meet the rapid increase in travel demand within the small land area of ours.
The number of trips per day grew by 5 million between 1980 and We expect the total number of daily trips to rise to at least 10 million by Year 2010.
Our challenge is to develop sustainable strategies to meet the rising travel needs. Considering that …

7. Sustainable, Integrated Approach
Landuse
Long-term Urban Planning, Integration of Developments
Optimise Road Network
Transport
Integrated Landuse/Transport Planning
Vehicle Ownership Restraint
Develop/Expand Rapid Transit
Vehicle Usage Restraint
Improve Bus Services
Traffic Management/ITS
Promote Public Transport
Integrate Bus/Rail Network & Ticketing
Enhance Safety & Accessibility
Enhance Commuter Accessibility
Judiciously Expand Road Network
Conducive Financing and Industry Framework
Environment
Emission Standards, Cleaner Fuels, Enforcement,
Green Vehicles, Education

8. Integrated Landuse/Transport Planning
Planning for transport goes beyond looking at transport issues alone. It must be integrated with the larger subject of overall land use planning.
Concept Plan is a long term strategic plan which guides the overall physical development of Singapore.
LTA works closely with other land use government agencies in developing the Concept Plan. Transport plans, are part of these strategic plans
These plans are reviewed periodically, every 10 yrs, to take into account population and employment changes which translate into travel demand and infrastructure requirements.
The last concept plan was done in 2001.

9. Develop High-Quality Public Transport
We have a variety of public transport modes including an islandwide Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system covering 109 km. It is complemented by a comprehensive bus network serving 260 routes.
There are presently 2 LRT lines with 19 km of route length providing as feeder systems to the MRT.
For door-to-door convenience, there are 20,000 taxis serving the island.

10. Managing Demand for Road Usage
Vehicle
Ownership
Control
Road Usage
Restraint
High upfront cost
Recurrent usage cost
Demand management comprises of 2 components
- Ownership control
- Usage control
Ownership control was instituted in 1990 with the implementation of a Vehicle Quota System (VQS) that allows the government to have absolute control over vehicle growth.
- Custom Duty (20%)
- Additional Registration Fee
(110%)
- COE Premium
Road Pricing
Petrol Duty

11. World’s First Road Pricing System
In terms of usage restraint, we started as early as 1975 with a manual, paper-based system, to regulate vehicle entry into the city centre, called the Area Licensing Scheme.
Under this scheme, all vehicles entering the city centre during the hours of restriction had to display a paper licence affixed to the windscreen.
Enforcement was by personnel at the gantry positions.

12. Road Pricing in Singapore - Key Policy Issues
Strong Government commitment
Congestion management tool
Non-revenue generating
No privacy intrusion
Transparent and trustworthy
Fair and equitable
Improve public transport
Provide alternatives
Minimise impact on businesses
Education/Publicity
Legislation and enforcement
Prevention of violations and frauds

13. World’s First Manual Road Pricing
Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) for CBD or Restricted Zone (RZ) started in June 1975
Licence fee: $3/day or $60/month
Carpools, taxis, motorcycles, buses and commercial vehicles were initially exempted
Scheme extended to Expressways in May 1990.
High manpower needs, limitation in varying road pricing charges, inconvenient to motorists.
Before ERP was implemented there was Manual Road Pricing.
MRP is a system where motorists had to purchase coupons to enter the CBD or pass thro certain E-ways. They could purchase coupons on a monthly or daily basis.
Disadvantages:-
Enforcement was done by an Officer stationed at the Gantry to note down vehicles that did not display the coupons. Imagine the poor Officer's working condition.
Inconvenient for motorists as they had to purchase the coupons only at designated booths.
The price was fixed, ie a motorist that decide to enter the RZ at off peak hours had to pay the same amount.
There was a need to adopt a better system - hence ERP.

14. Word’s First ERP System

15. ERP Coverage 1st phase automated the ALS.
Pricing has since been extended to other congested roads.

16. In-Vehicle Unit (IU) Permanent IUs (Powered by vehicle’s battery)
Temporary IUs (Powered by replaceable battery)
Different types of IUs are fitted on vehicles to enable road pricing charge to vary by vehicle type.
These are 6 types of IU shown here.
Generally the one on the right with the cover is for motorcycle.
But vehicle that has no roofing like military jeep will used this type of IU but need to be modified internally to have the vehicle charge class to be the same as passenger car.
The second IU is for passenger cars and light goods vehicle.
The third IU is for taxis. If you notice, the Taxi IU has dual display. The bottom display is to show the CashCard balance and the upper display is to show the passenger the amount to be paid after passing through the ERP gantry.
The fourth and fifth IU are meant for heavy goods vehicle and buses.
The last IU is an exempted IU for emergency vehicles like Ambulances and Fire Engines.
There are 2 more types of IU that are not shown here. They are the temporary IU for foreign vehicles and motorcycles that enter Singapore and need to pass the ERP gantry for a period of time.

17. ERP CONTROL CENTRE
24-hour operations to ensure all the ERP gantries are working properly.
Monitoring of all equipment.
Processing of financial transactions.
Processing of violation images.

18. - Policy Changes and Publicity
ERP Implementation
- Policy Changes and Publicity
Free fitting of In-vehicle Units
Strengthen enforcement powers
Vehicle tax incentives:
Lower vehicle ownership taxes and road tax
Road tax rebates over 5 years
Manage impact on businesses
Phasing-in of ERP rates for taxis (over 3 years) & commercial vehicles (over 4 years)
Publicity
Special ERP hot-line
Brochures sent to all vehicle owners
Wide media coverage, etc

19. Foreign Vehicles Rent - Temporary IUs for short-term visitors
$ refundable deposit
$5.05 rental fee per day (min of 2 days)
valid for two weeks
Buy - Permanent IUs for sale to frequent visitors
$ inclusive of installation
Day Scheme
Flat rate of S$5 per day. Fee is added to the Vehicle Entry Permit/Toll charges.

20. Violations and Errors Violations (~ 0.3% per day)
No IUs - Fine of S$70
No CashCards or Insufficient cash value in CashCard - Administrative Charge of S$8-$10 plus ERP charge
Errors (~ 0.05% per day)
Motorists asked to have IUs and CashCards checked

21. ERP Rates Peg to PCU (Pax Car Unit) Set based on traffic conditions
Taxi -1
Buses – 1.5 to 2
Light Goods Vehicle – 1
Heavy Goods Vehicle – 1.5 to 2
M/cycle – 0.5
Set based on traffic conditions
Vary by time and location
Starting from S$0.50 per PCU (max $3.50/PCU)
Review/Revise quarterly to maintain an optimal speed range
Only emergency vehicles are exempted

22. Review of ERP Rates To ensure use of road space is optimised
Review at 3-monthly intervals
65 kph
45 kph
Increase
Decrease
Expressways
30 kph
20 kph
Increase
Decrease
CBD/
Other Roads

23. Computer Transport Modelling
Provides travel demand forecasts and traffic simulation for infrastructure planning, policy studies and traffic management schemes (eg ERP)

24. Benefits of ERP Fair: Convenient: Reliable: Effective:
pay-as-you-use (charges are levied on a per-pass basis)
those who contribute more to the congestion pay more
those who use the roads less frequently or who travel during non-ERP hours will pay less or not need to pay at all
those who choose to pay will enjoy a smoother ride
no privacy intrusion
Convenient:
rates are automatically deducted from the cashcard in each vehicle
Reliable:
fully automated system, no human errors
Effective:
motorists more aware of the true cost of driving
motorists are encouraged to decide/choose:
whether to drive, when to drive and where to drive
different route, mode of transport, time of travel, or not travel at all.
optimise road usage and manage congestion

25. Effect of ALS / ERP
Index

26. Average speed within city centre during AM Peak
Smooth Flowing Roads > 95% of expressways and major arterial roads during peaks are congestion-free
Source: World Cities Research, 2005
Average speed within city centre during AM Peak

27. Sharing with the World
Delegates from some 50 countries worldwide have visited LTA
> 70 delegations visited LTA in 2005

28. Sharing with the World
A dedicated Division of Land Transport Authority (LTA)
A one-stop focal point for governments, organisations and professionals around the world to:
tap Singapore’s know-how and
exchange best practices in land transport management and development
Key training areas:
Policy and Planning
Public Transport Management
Traffic and Road Management
Rail Transit Development & Systems
Vehicle Licensing and Standards
Delivered by Senior LTA Staff who are the Domain Experts

29. Conclusion
Road Pricing/ERP is effective in managing congestion/road usage
reduces sharp peak traffic volumes
solves congestion in the controlled area, but may transfer congestion elsewhere
Road Pricing/ERP is not a revenue generating measure in Singapore but for congestion management
Road pricing scheme has to be implemented as part of a total package
Need good alternatives for those affected
Good public transport is important
Direct debit from the Cashcard (stored-value smartcard) addresses privacy concerns

30. Singapore
(LTA)
Thank You