10/08/2005

private transportation: how much does one pay for erp?

posted by robertteh in findsinggapore.net At $200 pm the total ERP paid will come to $24,000 excluding interest over 10 years. When LTA adds ERP gantries, the per trip ERP fee for the same journey goes up by the quantum unrelated to traffic congestion. For example when the original ERP gantry fees say at Orchard Road is $1.50 and another is added further upstream at $1.00 what is the percentage increase of ERF fee. Simple arithmetic shows that the ERP fee for the same journey now goes up by 1/2.5 x 100 %. Does traffic congestion really increase by such heft 40% to justify such increase ? So whenever additional gantry is added and the original ERP fee remains and new ERP fee is simply added on, there will be hefty jump in ERP fee by the assumption that the new ERP fee represents the additional traffic increase. Isn't this kind of collecting ERP fee logical and if not isn't it pure profiterring? To be fairer and more related to traffic congestion, the total ERP fees for the whole journey should reflect the additional congestions measured by the computerized meters not by this kind of add-on fees. Whenever new gantry is added the rest should be adjusted to reflect the actual traffic flow for the whole journey not by add-on unrelated to actual traffic congestion supposed to be controlled. Cheaper COE does not hurt the government revenue as it will increase the ERP tolls and enrich the government salaries and bonuses.

2 comments:

chinesetycoon said...

But if you look at this ERP thing from another angle, it make the rich poorer, thus closing of gap of rich & poor ^_^

But really no choice la, all tio interviewed said on TV, "gov say increase then increase lo, we got no say"

The only time we humble singaporean got chance to "speak up" is during election, but most of us choose to "shutup".

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

don't really mind if govt taxes the rich more. but what happens to all the tax money? are they translated into a better and cheaper public transport system? the public transport is a poor man's alternative transport. the high cost of private transport is artificially hiked to generate revenue presumably to provide an alternative transport and relieve the traffics on the road.

but is that happening?