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SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has decided to extend the coverage of Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) at various locations to improve traffic flow.
A slew of changes affecting motorists using the Central Expressway (CTE), Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) and East Coast Parkway (ECP) were disclosed after a visit to the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) tunnel by Transport Minister Raymond Lim on Thursday.
From 1 November, ERP operational hours of south-bound CTE will be extended by 4 hours on weekdays – from 7am to 11am – at the section between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Braddell Road.
A new gantry with evening ERP on the north-bound CTE will also be installed just before the PIE exit. Motorists will be charged from 5.30pm till 10.30pm on weekdays.
Evening ERP is also moving to the east-bound ECP – from the city towards Changi Airport – with a new gantry just before the Rochor Road exit and another at the Ophir Road slip road.
ERP charges will be implemented between 6pm and 8pm during weekdays.
There will also be a new gantry, with operating hours from 7.30am to 9am just after the Dairy Farm Road exit, before BKE joins Pan Island Expressway (PIE).
Explaining the changes, the Transport Minister said if road usage is not priced, roads will be over-used, resulting in widespread congestion.
While there is no silver bullet solution, Mr Lim said ERP is the only one that directly deals with the congestion problem.
He said: "We sometimes hear criticisms of the ERP system. Some have observed that introducing or raising ERP charges relieve congestion temporarily, but after a while, the congestion comes back.
"Others, especially those using the CTE, have complained that the ERP is unfair. They say that depending on where you join the expressway, some motorists add to the congestion without paying for it. This is feedback that we value. It shows that ERP coverage may need to be more extensive or pricing (has to be) fine-tuned."
Besides trying to come up with a more holistic way of dealing with congestion, LTA will also see if optimal speed ranges, which currently should not fall below 45 kph for expressways and 20 kph for other roads, need to be changed.
LTA is also installing ERP gantries at Toa Payoh Lorong 6, Upper Boon Keng Road, Kallang Bahru Road and Geylang Bahru Road, but will only start charging if traffic conditions worsen. - CNA/so
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