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SINGAPORE : More ERP gantries, higher ERP rates, and halving the annual vehicle growth rate to 1.5% - these are some of the main announcements by Transport Minister Raymond Lim in the final instalment of changes under the land transport review.
But the bitter pill of more ERP was accompanied by some sweeteners, such as a permanent 15% cut in road tax for all vehicles and a multi-billion dollar improvement programme for expressways.
Singapore has the same problem faced by many other growing cities in the world - an insatiable appetite for cars, leading to congestion and possible gridlock. Singapore transport officials said congestion has climbed 25% since 1999.
Drawing out the future road map, the transport minister said the problems made three things certain.
"First, not everybody can drive to and from work, it's just not possible. Two, the trade-offs that we face will become sharper. The more cars that we put on the road, the higher your ERP charges will be and the more extensive the ERP coverage will have to be," said the Transport Minister.
"Three, even if we have higher ERP charges and more extensive ERP coverage, given where the car population is today and that road growth is trending down, we will still have to moderate our vehicle population growth," Mr Lim continued.
So, ERP coverage will be expanded, where 16 more gantries will be activated this year, adding to the current 55.
On April 7, the gantries at Upper Bukit Timah Road, Toa Payoh Lorong 6, Upper Boon Keng Road, Geylang Bahru and Kallang Bahru will be activated.
On July 7, there will be five new gantries on roads along the Singapore River area. These are at Eu Tong Sen Street, New Bridge Road, South Bridge Road and both sides of Fullerton Road.
On November 3, there will be six more gantries at Commonwealth Avenue, Jalan Bukit Merah, Alexandra Road, AYE (westbound) and PIE (westbound) and Serangoon Road.
While these gantries kick in this year, solid public transport improvements are still some years away, so interim measures will be implemented immediately.
The frequency of basic bus services along ERP-affected corridors will be increased from 15 minutes to 12 minutes by June, and 10 minutes by next August. The frequency of feeder services will also go up.
And for the first time, buses will be allowed to duplicate services along mature rail lines.
Premium bus services will also be expanded from the current 42 to 72 by June, with priority for areas affected by the ERP expansion.
Read the full text of the Transport Minister's speech. - CNA /ls
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