Blog 3

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The people complain, the government explain, the public get used to it, they reach a consensus, and all is well. Then, prices get raised. Rinse and Repeat.

The issue that I am about to speak of, is the notorious, nefarious, nasty yet innocent sounding “ERP”. For those who do not know what I am talking about, ERP stands for Electronic Road Pricing, which is basically an electronic toll collection scheme designed to deduct a charge from Cashcards; stored value cards which has an initial value stored inside. As such, motorists have to top up the Cashcard whenever it is empty.

In my personal opinion, the ERP is something that belongs solely to Singapore, and as such should be included in our Uniquely Singaporean package. After all, where can we find such a unique system like this?

This post, however, is not about debating the ERP’s usefulness in promoting Singapore to tourists and immigrants. It is about debating the usefulness of the ERP in Singapore’s everyday society concerning everyday Singaporean citizens.

I believe that the main reason for the government putting up ERPs is as an alternative to road tax. ERP prices are going up, for example, in certain areas, the $0.50 charge has been increased to $2.00. Meanwhile, the government is reducing official road tax charges.

I personally believe that the government is trying to lower official road tax charging, in order to attract more foreign talent and immigrants. This would definitely increase the quality of life here in Singapore, so that more would be interested in living in Singapore, because of the lower road tax. Also, it serves as an attractive factor to local Singaporeans, who would be less tempted to move to other countries, therefore minimizing brain drain.

However, I disagree with the method that the government is taking. While the government is slowly lowering road tax, they are increasing ERPs. While as stated in the article, the average motorist, does indeed save a small amount of money every year due to the scheme, I feel that the path that the government has chosen to take concerning the ERP is a mistake.

The two more important factors concerning the implementation of the ERP would be the public reaction and the welfare of the citizens.

To be fair. The ERP has generated an enormous amount of public disapproval, yet it has efficiently completed its purpose; to aid the government in the gradual reduction of road tax by supplementing the government with an alternative way of taxing. I believe that this is because of the public face that the government has chosen to put up in order to reason with the people for the ERP.

They repeatedly emphasize that of utmost concern is to ease traffic conditions. As such, in areas where traffic speed dips below a certain speed, take 45km/h for example, the government will construct an ERP in that area to “reduce traffic congestion”. The response from the people was largely negative, something I think they did not anticipate; as the government was supposedly helping Singaporeans lead a less traffic-congested life.

While statistics do indeed show a decrease in traffic conditions, I feel that Singaporeans are simply taking alternative routes.

Take my family for example. After the ERP gantry was activated on the ECP on Saturdays, my father actually takes a different route to reach my grandma’s house.

Of course this is just an example of one family, but it is actually rather plausible to infer that several other families do that. This would definitely result in the decrease of traffic flow in areas with ERPs. While the ERP does indeed in a way decrease traffic flow in that area, drivers may actually end up jamming the alternative route, which would end up in an ERP on that route. The vicious cycle just continues.

While I am unsure of what exactly is the best course of action for the government to take, I feel that they should have at least completely stuck to their reasoning that the ERP package; which includes road tax and the annual ERP cost, is superior in savings compared to previous years. This would definitely help them in facing the public and the press rather than insisting on the two separate reasons, namely savings and road congestion.

The underlying basis for me suggesting that is because road congestion is not a good enough reason to construct ERPs. When an ERP is constructed, the traffic flow would significantly be reduced, because most drivers are desperately finding a different ERP-less route. As Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Inderjit Singh commented in the article, “More Singaporeans are accepting this.”

But the recent uproar is about the ERPs charging money on Saturday, because it conflicts with the promoting of spending time with your family, as families tend to go to places like Orchard Road which have ERPs on weekends. With the activation of ERP gantries even on Saturday, it effectively contradicts the government’s actions and words.

I suggest that the government place a lesser emphasis on ERP systems, and more on collecting public feedback. The first step they should do is to significantly reduce the working hours of ERPs and instead focus more on the actual raising of road tax.

Singaporeans tend to feel the pinch more when they have to deal with charges and taxes on the spot, and for a lack of a better term, in real-time. In fact, citizens would be actually happier if the sum was presented to them at the end of the year in the form of road tax, as in a way, ignorance is bliss. I am not calling for the citizens to completely ignore their road tax, or for the government to add ludicrous sums to the citizens’ road tax.

Road tax is dependent on the size of the vehicle’s engine. I feel that it is safe to assume that less wealthy citizens would own vehicles with a smaller engine, and so, road tax would actually be a lesser blow on them compared to the painful sting of the ERP. While the average motorist may suffer less because of the ERP system, I feel that we should definitely not neglect the lower income bracket.

Also, I feel that the general public would also react warmly to this. They would only have to deal with seeing dreaded taxes less, and the horror of the beeping every time they pass an ERP would be significantly reduced.

As such, this is the path that I feel the government should take. The ERP has a limited amount of usefulness in Singapore, and while it may suffice for the time being, I do not think that it is a suitable thing to be implemented in the long term.