Wednesday 30 July 2014

4 new ERP gantries along Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) to begin operations on 4 Aug 2014

ERP rates at some gantries on MCE and ECP will be cut from next Monday, while four new gantries on the AYE will begin operation, the LTA announces.
Channel NewsAsia, 29 Jul 2014

Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) rates will be lowered at four gantries at the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) and the East Coast Parkway (ECP) from Aug 4, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in its latest quarterly review of traffic conditions on Tuesday (July 29).

Motorists who pass through two gantries along the ECP towards the city and Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) slip road will no longer have to pay fees between 7.30am and 8am. The current fee is S$1 for each gantry.

Those passing through the two gantries on the west-bound MCE before the Maxwell Road exit and on the slip road to Marina Coastal Drive will see a reduction of S$1 from 8.30am to 9am. The current fee is $3 for each gantry.

From Aug 4, new ERP gantries along the Ayer-Rajah Expressway (AYE) will begin operation, LTA said. The transport authority noted that traffic speeds at the stretches between Jurong Town Hall Road and North Buona Vista Road continue to fall below the optimal speed range of 45 kmh to 65 kmh for expressways.

Motorists passing through one of three gantries on the city-bound AYE – after Jurong Town Hall, on Clementi Ave 6 and Clementi Ave 2 slip roads – will have to pay S$2 between 7.30am and 9am, and S$1 between 6pm and 7pm.

Those heading towards Tuas on the AYE after the North Buona Vista exit will have to pay S$1 from 6pm to 6.30pm, and S$2 from 6.30pm to 7pm.

The next ERP review will take place in November this year, the LTA said.








ERP needed to control AYE congestion

WE THANK readers for their feedback on the new Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantries along the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE).

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) adopts a holistic approach to managing traffic congestion by applying all available tools such as intelligent transport systems, traffic engineering solutions, ERP, the certificate of entitlement system to control the vehicle population, road widening and, most importantly, encouraging people to switch to public transport.

For the past several years, we have been closely monitoring traffic conditions along the AYE.

Traffic speeds have consistently remained below the expressway optimal speed range of 45kmh to 65kmh along two sections of the AYE - AYE (City) between Jurong Town Hall Road and Clementi Road during both the morning and evening peak hours, and AYE (Tuas) after North Buona Vista Road during the evening peak hours.

This traffic situation is expected to worsen due to new developments in the area.

Besides ERP, there is also road network improvement in the area. For example, plans are in place to widen Clementi Road and Commonwealth Avenue West (towards Jurong).

However, such road improvements can bring about only limited relief to congestion as the wider roads will likely attract more motorists to use the corridor.

With more than 12 per cent of our land already used for roads, there is a limit to how much more we can expand our road network.

Our priority is to build roads to serve new developments, facilitate the movement of buses for public transport commuters and support economic growth.

On the other hand, ERP has been effective in relieving congestion by encouraging motorists to switch their time, route or mode of travel.

Motorists who do not wish to pay ERP during operating hours can use alternative routes, such as the West Coast Highway, which have sufficient capacity.

We are also improving public transport services in the west.

To cater to ridership growth as more residential developments come up in Clementi, more buses and more bus trips during the peak periods have been added under the Bus Service Enhancement Programme.

For example, more buses have recently been added to Services 78, 173, 185 and 963.

Helen Lim (Ms)
Director, Media Relations
Land Transport Authority
ST Forum, 23 Aug 2014


No comments:

Post a Comment