ERP fare increases and implementation of northbound CTE ERP

last SG · 2005-07-28T16:35:22+00:00

tch..tch..tch... what would they think of next? The conclusion to this latest 'get-easy money scheme' shows PAP Government does not care for poor Singapore...

BillyBong SG

LAND TRANSPORT AUTHORITY (LTA) PRESS RELEASE
Revised ERP rates at Dunearn Road Gantry and implementation of ERP on Northbound CTE
26 July 2005

Traffic conditions on the northbound CTE have been deteriorating since 2000. Even after the stretch of the expressway between the PIE and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 was widened, congestion continued to persist especially during the evening peak hours. The average travel speed from 6.30pm to 8.00pm is below 40 km/h, which is well below the optimal speed range. As such, ERP will be introduced to alleviate congestion on the expressway. Motorists heading north can consider alternatives, including travelling at a different time, using public transport, or using alternative routes such Thomson Road and Upper Serangoon Road.

ERP Rate Review Criteria

LTA reviews the traffic conditions on the expressways and roads in the Restricted Zone (RZ) and Radial Roads where the ERP system is in operation, every quarterly and for the June and December school holidays.

Following each review, the ERP rates will be adjusted where necessary. This is to achieve optimal traffic flow on our expressways and roads, by maintaining a speed range of 45km/h to 65km/h for expressways and 20km/h to 30 km/h for arterial roads.

Next ERP Rate Review

The next revision of ERP rates will take place in November 2005 for the fourth quarterly ERP Rate Review for year 2005.
For full details and price variations, refer to : http://www.asiaone.com.sg/a1news/a1_20050726_001.html

As we all expected, the charging of ERP on the northbound was just inevitable.

Which means more money for gahmen coffers.

It seems the best and the brightest in our gahmen cannot offer any alternative other than to CHARGE for the use of the expressway.

In the past, people have come to accept the need for ERP. But this latest move is puzzling. Clearly the north-south CTE is a magnet for all road users as the fastest and most direct means to shuttle to the city area. Unlike with the PIE and previous ERP erections, this is going to have a negative fallback.

I see either a mad rush before 6pm out of the city or a massive congestion after 8pm. The former being more likely.

The excuse of piling additional costs for motorists is just an example of the lack of REAL CREATIVITY within our gahmen and hence LTA. Instead of thoroughly examining the possibility of more viaducts or redistribution of traditional traffic movements, they have come up with the straight-forward scheme of absorbing yet more 'tax' dollars from motorists (as if their road tax and radio licenses aren't enough).

Are we to come to a stage where our 'world class' transportation system and road network costs more to use than an average developed country in the west?

Figure this:

1. COE prices - massive cash cow for gahmen
2. ERP - daily cash cow for gahmen

In both the above cases, it was a direct attempt to make cars unaffordable and shift the focus to public transportation.

In both cases, they have failed miserably...all this while making a considerable fortune out of the average citizen.

Atobe SG

In the "attempt to make cars unaffordable and shift the focus to public transportation " - we should also note that the public transportation is also largely operated by Government Linked Corporations.

Besides making COE a monthly revenue generator and ERP a daily cash cow, there is also the Import Duty (ARF and PARF) that is paid with the purchase of every car - on top of the COE.

The Government is also making money from the annual Road Tax, which was promised by the infamous MBT that Road Tax will be lowered when COE and ERP is implemented.

This was said in late-1980s. Nearly TWENTY YEARS have passed, and Road Tax has only been reduced by a mere 20%, after having been increased by more then 300% from the Road Tax charged during early 1970s.

We are still waiting !!!

When will the breaking point come, when a mass protest will occur - as in the case of the NKF scandal ?

FireIce SG

discussed liao
http://www.sgforums.com/?action=thread_display&thread_id=143188

ShutterBug SG

They can ERP the whole island, and there would still be jams here and there. People need to go to work!!

If they ERP the whole place, then public transport will surely be overwhelmed. As it is, the bus services sucks big time; always late, not enough drivers, and Taxis play with peak hour timings, choose passengers, cause accidents. How to rely on public transport? WHat has, or did, ERP scheme improved? Nothing traffic related, just the government's coffers.

I don't want to say anymore about this topic. It pointless, and useless. We can only be like sheeps being herded year in year out. Nothing more.

tarutaru SG

with the COE at so low price u think where the government can get money from of cause the ERP

gorby107 SG

Are the government not having enough money??? So they use the ERP to earn it??? Hope they still can support us

tarutaru SG

If the LTA look at the problem on the north bound CTE carefully surely they would notice that there is an increment of the resident in the north because of the newly built estate like sengkang and sembawang. By charging ERP does it solve the problem of cause it does not but only making the government richer. I do notice that when LTA do not know how to solve a problem they always resort to ERP…......better wake up your idea LTA….did the scholars of LTA left there brain at home when going to work?

sgboy2004 SG

when will they learn?

gorby107 SG

They should ask the PTC to ask the transport companies to deploy more buses, LTA should build more roads and MRT line. Maybe like that will solve the problem besides using the ERP

iamgoondu SG

They hear you, yct (in
http://www.cna.tv/stories/singapore/view/31160/1/gb/.html) mentioned that the Eastern Line and Bukit Timah LInes will be ready in 20~25 years! Yes, expect the lines to be operational in 2025!

And SBST had implemented 4 new bus services in July 05!

a. 48 - buona vista to upper east coast
b. 34 - punggol to changi airporrt
c. 57 - bishan to bukit merah
d. 58 - bishan to pasir ris.

Too bad if you stay in Yishun, Sembawang, Woodlands, Bukit Panjang or Choa Chu Kang, for these are so called 'SMRT' territories. Why implement new services where you have SMRT rails to commute you to NSEW of singapore?

BillyBong SG

That is only one suggestion LTA should explore. With SMRT and SBS Transit, they could implement a 'shuttle bus' express system that picks up commuters from specific locations in the northern estates and commutes on the expressway directly to specific destinations in the CBD. I'm sure the affordable price will definitely be a plus point for people to forgo their cars in favour of a cheaper (probably just as fast) mode of transport.

Just like school buses that pick up kids from their neighbourhoods and drop them off at school.

Makes me wonder whether my tax dollars are being invested in 'intelligent' and 'scholarly' leaders in LTA... Mad All they think of is ERP expansion.

cowpeh SG

Didn't u listen to the news yesterday. "Singapore to have a MRT system comparable to London & Paris. More People will take the MRT transport system"

How else can they make the 4M population takes their transport? Make the car expensive or the carpark expensive. What u see in Japan now u will see them in Sinagpore within 10 years.
Mad Evil or Very Mad Mad Exclamation

Agressor SG

There build not enough roads, they increase the cost of using them. They build too many HDB carparks, they also increase the cost of parking. You do not have to wonder where your tax money goes because even the President of Singapore also has no right to know.

It seems that our leaders or so called ellites are being paid too highly such that it was in their mindset that money can solve all problems. Too bad, but this is Singapore.

Heartlander SG

The world is laughing at Singaporeans that you have to pay to drive home at night!There is no economic losses even if you go back late because of the jam, so why there is night ERP? Obviously this is another case of robbing Peter to pay Paul!

Cindyfeh SG

Heartlander your reasoning is very true. I will like to add my opinions.

As most of you will know, civil servants work 830-530. Maybe the scholars at LTA are super hardworking and work OT till 6pm. At that time if they want to go to their Yishun, AMK, etc north side homes, they kana jams. So to reduce the jams (in order for them to go home faster) they set up ERP on the north bound traffic. With their fat paycheck, the extra ERP fee is peanuts to them.

Anyway, after know all the above, WHAT ARE YOUR ACTION plans?

Are you going to set up a petition?

Are you changing to public transport?

Or are you going to migrate to get away from the peanuts-brained scholars who are controlling the gov boards?

Atobe SG

Originally posted by Cindyfeh:
As most of you will know, civil servants work 830-530. Maybe the scholars at LTA are super hardworking and work OT till 6pm. At that time if they want to go to their Yishun, AMK, etc north side homes, they kana jams. So to reduce the jams (in order for them to go home faster) they set up ERP on the north bound traffic. With their fat paycheck, the extra ERP fee is peanuts to them.

Will the scholars earning SUPER SCALE SALARY still stay in the "north side homes" ?

You will only find HDB flats in the north side of Singapore - (Woodlands, Sembawang, Yishun, AMK).

:
Or are you going to migrate to get away from the peanuts-brained scholars who are controlling the gov boards?

Why are you so hard pushed with the idea of migrating in all your postings ?

To every country that you migrate to, you will always find "peanut-brained scholars" thrown responsibilities that their limited working experience will be of little or no help - which will require these scholars to use "brain power" in a scientific "step-by-step" approach to problem solving, that will mean only "trial and error" until one get the right balance in a solution to solve the problems at hand.

Give these "peanut-brained scholars" a break, as it will probably be your own kids becoming a scholar (one day), as your kids will probably inherit the genetic genius from their parents !

The problem with the current road system in Singapore, besides the narrow dotted marked lanes in most of our Expressways - (as was said in my earlier posts in this thread) - is also the speed limit imposed by the smaller " peanut brained " executives at LTA.

The LTA executives, together with the other " peanut-brained " executives at the Traffic Police, are " SUPER PATERNALISTIC " towards Singaporean drivers.

They imposed a BLANKET SPEED LIMIT of 50 KMH over the entire Singapore since the independence of Singapore in 1965, unless otherwise posted; and this speed limit was only reviewed in 2005, being raised to 70KMH, unless otherwise indicated.

Along most of our 3 and 4 lanes road corridors such as Bukit Timah-Upper Bukit Timah, Thomson-Upper Thomson Road, Holland Road, Grange Road, Patterson Road, and Hougang Ave 3 - the speed limit is only 70KMH - (through out 24 hours)

The speed limit along the ECP, PIE, AYE, KJE, SLE, TPE, and CTE is 80KMH and 90KMH - regardless of traffic conditions and time of day or night.

Is the Traffic Police and LTA over cautious in posting these speed limits ?

Roads and Expressways are supposed to be designed to carry human traffic from one place to another place as quickly as possible, and at the safest possible speed.

Instead of moving people along and allowing them to reach their destinations quickly, WITHOUT CLOGGING our roads and expressways, its seems that the LTA and Traffic Police prefer to keep everyone on the roads and expressways for as long as it is SAFEST in their minds.

At the various speed posted for the different roads and expressways, one can see that thousands of drivers are moving along at speed that are 10 to 20KMH higher then the legislated speed limit !!!

Out of the thousands of cars that move through the roadways and expressways, travelling at speeds that are far higher then the allowed speed, the number of accidents per thousand cars passing any accident spot is relatively insignificant.

The spectacular accidents are always the result of some frustrated driver colliding into a slower and similarly frustrated driver, who moved slowly and refused to get out of the fast lane.

Spectacular accidents are not always the fault of an enthusiastic speedster, but also the fault of LTA in their poor road design and constructions - (which will be an interesting separate subject to discuss by itself).

LTA and the Traffic Police should allow flexible speed limits for the different times of the day and night on ALL SINGAPORE ROADS, except for roads in the higher density areas where residential, commercial and industrial traffic is high.

With modern technologies that can allow such flexibility in speed limits to be adjusted by ELECTRONIC SIGN BOARDS, traffic should be allowed to FLOW IN A STREAM, and should not be artificially impeded by restrictively SILLY speed limits, and ridiculous throttling of the flow with Spot Radar Cameras in fixed positions that require all "law fearing" Drivers to slow down to BELOW the speed limit.

Traffic Police should not merely be watching out for speedsters but also to instill ROAD DISCIPLINE, where slow moving vehicles (heavy vehicles, and slow car drivers) hog the road even when they are driving within the speed limit.

The lead car in any long line of vehicles should be fined, if the driver is in a lead position for more then 2 or 3 kilometers continuously.

This will force the driver to move aside if the driver's speed is holding up traffic, and other cars can then pass him; hence, controlling everyone's frustrations and temper.

This will instill a degree of civic mindedness and consideration to other road users.

Cindyfeh SG

Thanks Atobe for the above spectacular analysis of Singapore traffic and the future of my offsprings.

I am not forcing you to migrate. So why get so worked up on that? It is just my opinion.

Anyway, having penned the above analysis, what are you planning to do? Forward it to SPH, LTA? How do you plan to solve the problems? What are your action plans?

PAP are successful today because they are an ACTION party.

Confusicus said "To know and not to do is not to know".

tarutaru SG

btw i think all the LTA think is where jam just put a ERP there....watch it guys there will definitely be more ERP at night to come....the next one maybe ECP also

gorby107 SG

If they keep on do this and this won’t work. Maybe next time they will force us to take public transport to work or go around or else they will tax or fine us. So be prepared for the worst to come

pearlie27 SG

Cindyfeh

As concerned citizens we have the civic responsibilty to inquire into the practice of the country. It is only through free and open discussion that we will get a clearer idea of what our country is and could be. It is also through robust debate that different options are explored.

I believe that some of the bad decisions made by our govt are the result of a culture where no one has the info or the avenue to question and the govt don't have to be accountable.