ERP IN SINGAPORE - A PERSPECTIVE ONE YEAR ON

In September 1998, Singapore was the first city in the world to implement an electronic road pricing (ERP) system. This system replaced an Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) for the Restricted Zone which had been operating since 1975, and a road pricing system (RPS) introduced on three major expressways in the 1990s. This paper describes experience with one year of the system, up to August 1999, for the Restricted Zone, and discusses how Singapore's citizens have adapted to it. The ERP system is a dedicated short-range radio communication system (DSRC) using a 2.54GHz band. It has three components: an in-vehicle unit with a smart card, ERP gantries which are control points, and a control centre. The control points are the same as for the previous ALS and RPS. The paper considers the following aspects of the ERP scheme: (1) how the ERP scheme works; (2) the user-friendliness of the scheme; (3) violations of the scheme; (4) the scheme's flexibility; (5) effects on traffic volumes; (6) behaviour of drivers using the scheme; (7) the effectiveness of ERP; (8) traffic volumes on the bypass route; (9) ERP revenues; (10) the demand price elasticity of ERP; (11) the scheme's treatment of foreign vehicles; and (12) issues raised by motorists in its first year. The scheme is successful and reliable, and its technology is now proven.