Still No ERP Charges in All Gantries Until 26 July & Thankfully No New Satellite-Based ERP System Yet

When the Circuit Breaker hit Singapore, someone in Land Transport Authority (LTA) also turned a switch in all their ERP gantries, and they’ve not been on since 7 April 2020.

This is something that we might not see in the near future.

Reader Bao: Actually, you would, given that the satellite—

Back then, at the end of May, LTA said that all ERP gantries would continue to charge vehicles at a whopping $0.00 until 28 June 2020 as they need to assess whether Phase One reopening would lead to traffic congestion.

Well, maybe they didn’t know that Phase Two comes so early.

No ERP Charges Until 26 July 2020

Today, LTA said that they’ve completed its first review of Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) rates following the Circuit Breaker.

Based on LTA’s monitoring of traffic conditions, traffic speeds on expressways and arterial roads in early June 2020 have remained optimal.

ERP rates at all gantries will therefore remain at zero until the next ERP rate review.

The outcome of the next ERP rate review will be announced in the fourth week of July 2020, and the appropriate ERP rates, if any, will take effect from 27 July 2020.

So it’s still a free road for all for more than a month.

But given that you can finally see more vehicles on the road since Phase Two, with multiple accidents on the first day of Phase Two, don’t pin any hope on free ERP come 27 July 2020.

And if you’re wondering what the heck this ERP rate review is all about, read on.

ERP is Actually Reviewed Every Three Months

While you’d like to think that ERPs are tools for Ah Gong to earn more revenue, they aren’t.

They’re meant to prevent congestion and since traffic conditions change regularly (e.g. fewer vehicles during school holidays), they’re reviewed every quarter.

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However, since COVID-19 hit us, LTA has changed from a quarterly review to a monthly review (or to be precise, every four weeks).

This explains why we’d need another four weeks to know if Phase Two has indeed made Ah Hock and Michelle come out of the house regularly during peak hours, causing congestion in Orchard Road.

But hey; despite that, ERPs might finally be a thing of the past soon.

New Satellite-Based ERP System (By Right) Should Be Ready in 2020

By right, this year, we might already be using the new satellite-based ERP system and can finally say goodbye to our IU.

No, not this IU. The other IU that you hate having in your car.

Last year, it was announced that from 2020, new On-Board Units (OBUs) might replace our IUs, and we’d be charged for the distance travelled instead of passing by any ERP.

People cried and complained, hoping that something major would happen in 2020 that would derail this plan.

Well, their wishes came true, and since then, these people have never wished for anything else anymore.

In any case, you should be glad that ERP is coming back now, no?

You can read more about ERPs here.

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