The Home Team expects to start using ERP 2 data from January 2027 to help prevent, detect and solve crimes, Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Goh Pei Ming told Parliament on 3 November.
Access to the data and its use will be subject to safeguards, as with other information obtained by Home Team agencies, he said.
Access Will Rely on Existing Legal Powers
Goh was responding to MP Jackson Lam, who asked whether police and other Home Affairs agencies would be allowed to access vehicle-specific ERP 2 data for criminal investigations or national security purposes, and what safeguards would apply.
He said Home Team agencies already have legal powers to obtain information from available sources, including sensors.
For example, Section 20 of the Criminal Procedure Code allows police to order documents or other items to be produced when needed for investigations, inquiries, trials or other proceedings. Other Home Team agencies have similar powers, he added.
Asked how long vehicle-specific data could be kept, Goh said police would retain it for as long as necessary to complete an investigation or court proceedings.
LTA Already Retrieves Location Data for Enforcement
Separately, Senior Minister of State for Transport Sun Xueling said LTA can retrieve location data from sensors and systems when it needs to identify specific vehicles for enforcement.
It has already done so to tackle illegal cross-border taxi services and detect deregistered vehicles.
For traffic planning and management, however, individual vehicle data is combined and anonymised when transferred to LTA’s backend system, she said.
LTA had also explained in September that it uses existing ERP gantry records to detect vehicles that should not be on the roads. ERP 2 will continue supporting enforcement against vehicle-related offences.
While the new system could potentially support speeding enforcement, LTA said further enhancements would be required before such use.
Data Access Will Be Subject to Safeguards
Sun said motorists cannot directly access data stored in their ERP 2 on-board units, or OBUs. Data transmitted by the units can be accessed only by the government and is stored securely.
Use and sharing for other authorised purposes will be governed by public sector data rules, including safeguards against unauthorised access.
ERP 2 is scheduled to launch on 1 January 2027. It uses satellite positioning technology, with the OBU detecting when a vehicle passes a charging location and calculating the applicable ERP charge.
New road markings and signs are being introduced to help motorists identify charging locations as Singapore moves away from physical ERP gantries.
