Saturday, August 05, 2006

Up up and away!

.... just like Superman...


*sigh* am running out of progress in the progress package to keep up with ALL the price increases...

Aug 5, 2006
ERP rates at 6 expressway gantries to go up


FROM Monday, motorists and taxi passengers will have to pay an extra 50 cents in road tolls when they pass through six key expressway gantries.
Four of six gantries regulate traffic along the Central Expressway (CTE), while the remaining two affect traffic on the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) and the East Coast Parkway (ECP).

The new rate for the Ang Mo Kio gantry on the CTE from 8.30am to 9am will be $1.50, and that for the gantry after Braddell Road from 8am to 8.30am will be $2.

Evening ERP on the CTE will rise in similar fashion - a year after motorists living in the north started paying to get home. Between 6.30pm and 7.30pm, the new rate will be $1.50.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said as recently as May that average speeds on the CTE in the evening peak period had improved from 28kmh to 55kmh with ERP.

That speed is well within the authority's definition of 'optimal traffic flow' of 45-65kmh for expressways.

The authority was unable to comment yesterday on how conditions had deteriorated.

Expressways have the highest traffic volumes. Nearly 10,000 vehicles per hour head north on the CTE during the evening peak. This is about three times the volume on most arterial roads.

The last rate change affecting the CTE is for the gantry at the PIE slip road.

Elsewhere, the new rate for the Fort Road gantry on the ECP from 8.30am to 9am will be $2.

On the PIE, motorists will have to pay $1 to pass the Kallang Bahru gantry from 8.30am to 9am.

The increases will also affect other categories of vehicle.

For instance, very heavy trucks and buses will be charged $5 (up from $4) at the PIE slip road into the CTE from 8am to 8.30am.

The LTA monitors travelling speeds on the expressways and roads in the Restricted Zone and radial roads where the ERP system is in operation every quarter, and also for the June and December school holidays.

Following each review, the ERP rates will be adjusted to maintain travelling speeds of 45kmh to 65kmh for expressways and 20kmh to 30kmh for arterial roads.

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

It was gonna happen dude :)

Lower taxes lead to cheaper cars.
Traffic has been getting worse lately 'cos there are more cars on the road.

ERP rates have to go up because there is more demand for the same limited road space.

3:45 pm  
Blogger PC said...

Yup. As far back as 1995, Mah Bow Tan had been very specific in saying that the government was moving from a high fixed cost stucture to that of a usage-based structure. He had promised, at that point in time, that measures would be put in place to lower initial ownership costs, especially the COE system.... 11 years later... well, we see the result. :o)

10:18 pm  
Blogger Whispers from the heart said...

If Singapore keeps increasing its population, I don't see how costs of anything can be controlled.

There will be more cars on the road and more mouths to feed etc. Everything has to go up except your wages.

After introducing usage-based structure and it's still not the solution, we can always have means-testing! Besides bigger cars having to pay more tax etc, car owners of higher salaries will also pay more for the same stretch of road?!

Never say never ...

10:53 am  
Blogger expat@large said...

Careful dude, you'll be getting a letter from Ms K Bhavani if you keep this 'sarcasm' up!

10:01 pm  
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4:07 am  

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