Yeo Ghim Lay, Straits Times 6 Nov 08;
ELECTRONIC Road Pricing (ERP) systems abroad will soon be able to do more than just charge drivers for contributing to congestion.
The Netherlands is looking to introduce tolls that bill motorists for the amount of pollution their vehicles spew into the environment.
It is a system that will encourage drivers to go for greener cars and help ease global warming, said Professor David Hensher at a major gathering of transport experts yesterday.
Under the Dutch ERP system, cars will be charged according to the distance they travel and the vehicle's fuel efficiency. Drivers of gas guzzlers will pay more than motorists with sub-compacts.
'The current system's not fair,' said Prof Hensher, who is from the University of Sydney in Australia. 'If you're driving a Mercedes-Benz with eight cylinders, you're paying no more per km then somebody driving a very fuel-efficient small car.'
He is one of several international speakers at the inaugural World Urban Transport Leaders Summit, organised by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) Academy.
The Dutch ERP system is set to start in 2011 for lorries and will be phased in for cars from 2012 to 2016.
While that is a road Singapore does not plan to travel down just yet, officials said, the Republic is moving towards a satellite-based system that can track cars and charge them for the distance they travel.
The LTA is studying Global Positioning System technology for this.
Meanwhile, Prof Hensher yesterday advocated axing ERP charges for public buses. Operators in Singapore must pay the tolls. He said public buses should be exempt, especially when the authorities are trying to get more people onto public transport.
The LTA, responding to media queries on his suggestion, said public buses have to pay ERP because they occupy road space like other vehicles and contribute to congestion.
SBS Transit estimates that it paid $1.5 million in ERP charges in the first half of this year, while SMRT paid $1 million over the year which ended in March.
