Singapore

Singapore is a city-state island nation located on the Indo-China Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is the second-highest population density in the world. Singapore was the first country in the world to collect traffic congestion fees. Its Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) began in the 1970s. In 1998, the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) was introduced (with 13 years of preparation); and the GPS-based ERP (stage II) was implemented in 2017.

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CC overview

Time: Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) in 1975 and Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) in 1998 (with 13 years of preparation)GPS-based ERP (stage II) in 2017

Prerequisites: Initiated by government

Exemptions:No Exemptions, except for emergency vehicles such as police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances

Charging Hours: 7:30 am–8:00 pm, Monday to Friday 12:30 pm–8:00 pm on Saturdays 7:30 am–1:00 pm for public holidays (differs at some road sections)

Rate: Charging on passing gantries. Rates vary from 0 to SGD 12 (about RMB 55), depending on vehicle type, time, and location

Revenue Allocation: Revenue to national government, no dedicated usage

Congestion Charging zone: Early on, the ERP charging area included only the area surrounding the CBDs, which is called the first charging ring road. Later, due to the successful implementation of the system and further demands for relieving traffic pressure, Singapore constructed the second ring road around the first ring road.

Implementation Effects of CC policy

The ERP system in Singapore is developed mainly for improving tra c ow and alleviating congestion. Additionally, the relative share of di erent travel modes has shifted, as the improved tra c ow has allowed better use of public transport, for example. It can be concluded that the ERP system has generated positive co-bene ts in energy saving and emissions reduction.

The number of vehicles in Singapore has risen continuously over the years. However, the tra c ow into the CBD during morning peak hours remains unchanged (see Figure 4-8). The ideal speed (20–30 km/ hour for local roads, 45–65 km/hour for expressways) can be reached in each restricted road section. Although Singapore experienced booming development in these years, with rapid urbanization and increasing tra c volumes, no new roads have been opened in the CBD. This is further evidence that the ERP has a great e ect on congestion alleviation .

Influence on Public Transport Mode Share：Passenger trips by public transport have increased signi cantly since the implementation of the ERP scheme, and bus speeds in the CBD have improved. Before ERP began operating, the share of private car and bus trips was 56 percent and 33 percent, respectively. By 2014, 66 percent of citizens were using public transport for travel during peak hours. The annual growth rate of rail and bus trip shares is 10.1 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively. Citizen travel behavior has seen interesting changes,due to the ERP scheme’s discouragement of car travel. Normally, these kinds of change are not commonly seen in high-income countries ：increased use of motorcycles, increased use of taxis, increased chartered bus transport, freight truck for illegal passenger transport.

Co-Benefits to Energy and Environment: The combination of the ERP system with other TDM measures has greatly improved energy efficiency and environmental quality in Singapore. Since the implementation of CC, the public has been shifting gradually from private cars to public transport. The decrease in peak-hour traffic volumes and the shiftof travel modes not only contributes to alleviating congestion in the city, but also to vehicle emissions reduction and air quality improvement, which can be summarized as the co-benefits brought by the CC scheme in Singapore.

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