Congestion carries environmental cost too: Singapore Transport minister

Channel NewsAsia 15 Feb 08;

SINGAPORE: Traffic congestion carries an environmental cost, not just an economic cost.

That is why evening Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) has to be implemented, said Transport Minister Raymond Lim.

He was responding to a call from MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, Lee Bee Wah, for the evening ERP on the Central Expressway (CTE) to be abolished.

According to the feedback she got, Ms Lee said as the work day is over, traffic speed is no longer a critical issue for commuters driving home to Ang Mo Kio and Yishun on the CTE.

Mr Lim, however, pointed out that there are others who want a congestion-free drive home as well as a better living environment.

"Congestion extracts an economic and environmental cost. So at anytime of the day, this is the cost you have," said the transport minister.

Mr Lim also pointed out that study trips have shown that some cities in Europe put restrictions on the entry of vehicles into residential estates to safeguard standards of living.- CNA/so

Singapore Government has no plans to lower petrol duty despite high oil prices
Channel NewsAsia 15 Feb 08;

SINGAPORE: The government has no plans to lower the rate of petrol duty despite higher oil prices.

Minister of State for Finance and Transport Lim Hwee Hua said this is because petrol duty is a vehicular usage tax aimed at discouraging the excessive use of cars and promoting the greater use of public transport, and these objectives remain relevant.

Mrs Lim was replying to a question posed by MP for Aljunied GRC, Mrs Cynthia Phua, in Parliament on Friday.

Mrs Phua had asked if the government would review its tax policy on petrol, diesel and natural gas to help reduce business costs for transport operators, businesses, as well as commuters.

Mrs Lim explained that higher pump prices does not mean the government gets to collect more petrol duties.

She said: "The excise duty on petroleum is imposed on volumetric bases of 41 cents a litre for 92 and 95-octane petrol, and 44 cents a litre for petrol rated 97-octane and above. The excise duty is therefore a fixed sum per litre of petrol."

There is no excise duty on diesel, fuel oil and natural gas used for generating power.- CNA/so

Gantries in heartland to make residential estates more liveable
Clarissa Oon, Straits Times 15 Feb 08;

TAKING the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) scheme into the heartland will ease an expected islandwide traffic gridlock and make residential estates more liveable, Transport Minister Raymond Lim said yesterday.

With 850,000 vehicles on the road and more intensive use of cars than in other major cities, Singapore's arterial roads will also soon face congestion, he said in response to queries on the planned expansion of ERP coverage.

Dr Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio GRC) questioned the point of evening ERP charges along the Central Expressway (CTE), which she said is the shortest route home for Ang Mo Kio and Yishun residents.

But Mr Lim replied: Imagine a situation where heartland roads are exempted from ERP charges and only the Central Business District and expressways leading there are affected.

Drivers would then use alternative roads, including detours through the heartland and other estates.

'If you're living in a residential estate, is that what you want - gridlock?' he asked.

He said his ministry studied many European cities such as those in Switzerland and Germany, which have measures to cut down vehicle traffic in residential areas.

Congestion exacts costs on both the economy and the environment and 'going ahead, the key thing here is to have a liveable city, a quality urban living environment', he said.

Singaporean drivers clock up 21,000km a year in their cars, more than Londoners (9,100km) and even those in Los Angeles (19,800km).

In response to other questions, he said that the 16 new ERP gantries coming up this year are part of a package of measures to manage gridlock on Singapore's roads.

The measures include road and rail upgrades totalling nearly $54 billion.

This means the Government is giving back to the public more than the projected increase in ERP revenue, he said.

The increase in the number of gantries will bring the total number to 71.

'I think it is worthwhile for us to realise that when we are dealing with congestion, we can't rely on any single measure. You need a whole suite of measures,' he said.

Anyone who says he has found a panacea or a single solution is 'selling you snake oil. Ignore the medicine man, it doesn't work that way', he said.

Madam Ho Geok Choo (West Coast GRC) asked him how the $168 million in ERP revenues will be accounted for following the rate hikes.

Mr Lim said the money would go towards funding various government programmes for Singaporeans, including public transport and road projects.

From now till 2020, some $14 billion will be spent on road developments, and around $40 billion on extensions to rail lines.

While his ministry expects the additional revenue from the upcoming ERP changes to be about $70 million annually, the reduction in road tax will cost the Government about $110 million every year. It will also collect $200 million less annually due to a reduction in the Additional Registration Fee (ARF) for cars, he said.

The point of the ERP, he told Madam Ho, 'is to address congestion and is not a revenue measure'.