ELECTRONIC road pricing (ERP) will be expanded
to three stretches of expressway from Nov 1, while current
operating hours on the Central Expressway (CTE) will be extended.
In addition, five new gantries will be erected across the island
but will remain unactivated unless vehicle speeds fall below the
optimal speed range.
Heavy going: Govt will review the vehicle growth rate because the
current 3% growth rate cap is based on an ever increasing base, and
road growth ahead will shrink, says Transport Minister Raymond
Lim
Transport Minister Raymond Lim announced this yesterday during a
visit to the Kallang/Paya Lebar Expressway Operational Control
Centre.
'Over the last two years, traffic levels have been gradually but
noticeably building up,' he said. 'More roads are congested,
especially during peak hours, including in the evenings.'
As a result, a Land Transport Authority review concluded that
morning ERP along the south-bound CTE will be extended. The
existing gantry between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Braddell Road will
change its operating hours to 7am-11am on weekdays from
7.30am-9.30am currently.
The review also includes the building of three new gantries. The
first is along the north-bound CTE to cover the stretch from Bukit
Timah to just before the Pan Island Expressway (PIE). It will
operate from 5.30pm-10.30pm on weekdays. Evening ERP already exists
farther up the north-bound CTE after the PIE exit. This gantry was
erected in August 2005.
Another area of congestion to be addressed is the east-bound East
Coast Parkway (PIE). A gantry each will be built at the two
accesses into the east-bound ECP from the city and the Ayer Rajah
Expressway, that is, before the Rochor Road exit and at the Ophir
Road slip road. The pair of gantries will operate from 6pm-8pm on
weekdays.
The third new gantry will be for the morning peak period on the
south-bound Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE). It will be located after
the Dairy Farm exit, before the BKE joins the PIE, and operate from
7.30am-9am on weekdays.
Five other gantries will also be installed on the south-bound Upper
Bukit Timah Road and in the Outer Cordon area, namely, Toa Payoh
Lorong 6, Upper Boon Keng Road, Kallang Bahru Road and Geylang
Bahru Road.
Mr Lim said the ERP system has been effective in keeping
Singapore's roads and expressways smooth-flowing - above 45 kmh for
expressways and above 20 kmh on arterial roads.
'With the introduction of ERP in 1998, the government has been able
to rely more on car usage charges and less on car ownership taxes
to manage traffic demand,' he said, adding that vehicle ownership
taxes have been reduced and as a result, annual vehicle ownership
revenue fell from $3.4 billion in 1997 to $1.7 billion in 2006
compared with about $90 million in annual ERP revenue collected
during that period.
'ERP has thus proven to be a more effective approach to managing
traffic demand, and it costs motorists much less overall.'
Mr Lim also mentioned that the vehicle growth rate will be reviewed
because the current 3 per cent growth rate cap is based on an ever
increasing base.
'In 1990, when the 3 per cent cap was introduced, it amounted to
16,000 additional vehicles a year. Today, 3 per cent amounts to
24,000 additional vehicles every year. Against this is the fact
that road growth was only one per cent per year in the last 15
years, going down to about 0.5 per cent over the next 15
years.'
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July CPI rises at fastest pace in a decade
SINGAPORE'S consumer prices rose in July at the fastest pace in
more than a decade after an increase in the Goods and Services Tax
(GST), suggesting the central bank will maintain a policy of a
strengthening currency to curb inflation.
Rising cost of eating out: Food prices rose 2.9 per cent in July
from a year ago
The consumer price index increased 2.6 per cent from a year
earlier, after gaining 1.3 per cent in June, the Department of
Statistics said yesterday.
That was the quickest clip since January 1995 and exceeded the 1.7
per cent expected by economists. Prices rose 2.1 per cent from
June.
The government raised the GST by two percentage points to 7 per
cent on July 1 to make up for a revenue shortfall after corporate
tax rates were reduced.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) last month warned that
consumer prices may pick up in the second half as the economy
expands, underscoring the need for policy makers to remain alert on
inflation.
'The spike up in inflation from the GST pass-through is not
unexpected,' said Joseph Tan, a strategist at Fortis Bank SA in
Singapore.
'With the pick-up in inflation, there's no reason for a change in
the policy stance for a gradual appreciation in the Singapore
dollar,' he added.
The MAS in April reaffirmed a three-year policy of allowing the
Singapore dollar to strengthen, a move that has reduced import
costs and helped keep inflation within its forecast range.
It has sought a 'modest and gradual' appreciation in the Singapore
dollar since April 2004 to contain inflation. The policy will be
reviewed next in October.
The GST increase will add between 0.4 per cent and 0.6 per cent to
consumer prices this year and next, the MAS said last month.
The MAS expects inflation in 2007 to be at the upper half of its
0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent range, before rising to as much as 2
per cent next year.
Food prices, which make up 23 per cent of the index, rose 2.9 per
cent in July from a year ago, following June's 1.7 per cent
increase. From June, food prices gained 1.4 per cent.
Transport and communication costs, the second-biggest component at
22 per cent of the index, climbed 2.9 per cent in July from a year
earlier. From June, transport and communication prices rose one per
cent.
Housing costs, the third-largest component of the consumer price
index, gained 0.7 per cent from a year ago, after a 2 per cent
slide in June, yesterday's report showed. From a month ago, housing
prices rose 4.9 per cent as electricity prices climbed and rents
increased.
Singapore Power, the island's biggest power company, raised
electricity tariffs for the July to September quarter by an average
8.8 per cent, citing higher oil prices. It reviews rates every
three months.
Recreation costs, which include holiday travel, gained 4.2 per cent
in July from a year ago and rose 0.5 per cent from the previous
month.
Prices of clothing and footwear gained 1.2 per cent from a year
earlier and increased 3.9 per cent from June. --
Bloomberg
