So much whining about ERP, what is YOUR solution?

[Slayer]

at where we are now :

- reduce COE - car market suffers. COE high. demographic of the car owner will shift and therefore impact the car business.

- reduce ERP - ppl buay zi tong, everywhere also jam.

- raise ERP - some die, some get smooth traffic, redirect conjestion to somewhere else.

- more ERP gantry : u don't know how much exactly it cost u to go somewhere. it is so confusing.

- redesign the roads : nothing beats good driver with common sense.

 

What can we do?

- Find ways to beat the traffic, go earlier to work?

- Traffic warning system : any good?

- Stuck in traffic jam is uncool , even if u are driving a fancy car. take a mrt. it is packed, but it gets there in time.

- if u have the gift. please, apply for the job in the Transport Minister office.

 

As much as we would love to be acknowledged of having/will have a world class transportation, there is really nothing to be proud of, when we ourselve behaves like barbarians on the raod. :)

 

Since it is world class, there must be others that it benchmark itself against? Who did it benchmark against? and how did those other country manage it? Are the people happy with it? if u know of any , do share what is happening in those country that we ought to learn from.

 

 

 

 

 

Dear all,

 

I complained about the erection of new ERP gantries, especially the news that ERP charging will be implemented in the heartlands. I agree that gahmen are just leeching us dry and that they treat us as money pots.

 

but if one day, you were to stand in front of the transport minister raymond lim and challenged him with ur idea... what will it be?

1) most will say reduce the number of COEs aka bring back the old system...

His probable reply: Car ownership will then be for the rich who can afford mighty high COE.

 

2) Some will say improve the public transport and make it more affordable etc.

His probable reply: We aready have a world class public transport sys and should be given time to fine tune it, and gahmen should not interfere with the profitability of transport companies in this competitive and ever changing economy blah blah.

 

So what's ur solution to this congestion problem? Please share. THanks! =)

[Stary]

Change the party

 

 

I say change the country.

Edited January 14, 2008 by Starry

[Kiadaw]

 

Seriously, the 3rd option is actually good for short distance travels. Very compact too.

[Sgnick]

The MRT are already very packed during peak hours and we haven't reach 6 million population yet

Ah yo ... increase the MRT frequency lah ... all trains service is within 2 to 3 min. I believe it will resolve the crowd issue.

 

I cannot agree more. The busiest train lines in Tokyo, frequency is 2 mins per train at all times. In Spore, NS line, train comes once 8 mins on Saturday afternoon, and train is packed to the brim so some people cannot get on, so LPPL, have to wait 8 more minutes for next train. This is the world class public transport we talking about. I think our public transport is designed this way to encourage people to go buy cars and fall into the COE/ERP trap.

[Chickenfarm]

Cut down on the number of cars on the road...for example...if rich father got a daughter still studying in NTU, don't buy car for her yet

[Miles]

cheaper to let daughter to stay in hostel than buy her the car if she studies in NTU.

weekend, call for a cab to go home.

 

how did we survive then? without MRT .... have to take the bus and endure 2 hour + journey. We didnt have PSP, NDS nor handphone to pass time then.... cannot read cause too bumpy, ... no aircon somemore. ... so plug earphones from walkman (no ipod too) in the ears and sleep in the bus lah.

[Fondue]

1. Limit the number of parking space in CBD. Folks will LL have to switch to public transport cos no where to park even if have money.

 

2. Limit the time on CBD public carpark to 1 or 2hr max. These caters to those who need the car to do errants in town for short period and most prob not during peak hour.

 

3. Increase the cost of parking in congested area, both short term and long term.

 

 

In places like Chicago, Tokyo and Taipei, lots of the high income earners take public transport to their office like their lower paid peers. Even my BIL who is in top management in a MNC Taipei office sold his car cos he didn't manage to get a parking space at the office during the ballot.

[Subarur1]

[reply]I suggest:

1) identify all chokepoints causing the jams.

2) widen the roads at chokepoints

3) build alternative roads to chokepoints.

4) increase speed limits to all roads so traffic can move faster.

5) impose fines to road hoggers on right lanes

6) reduce accidents by having more stringent driving tests and health checks for older drivers

7) encourage companies to allow more employees to work at home - so less people need to travel to work

 

This is what i think so too, but our gahment dont seem to get it..

[Conservative]

but if one day, you were to stand in front of the transport minister raymond lim and challenged him with ur idea... what will it be?

 

true, its easy to criticize, but if he really asks me, I'll say, Pay me a junior minister's salary, I'll find an answer for you ....

 

Cannot tap my brain then take the credit ma , hehehe.

 

 

.

Edited January 14, 2008 by Conservative

[Jazzer]

Some of my ideas..

 

1)Increase the price of the cars back to the days where a Mit. Lancer cost 125K.

* Yes, only rich people will afford to buy cars. Then again, owning a car in Singapore IS a luxury. Luxury comes with a price then.

 

2)Change the ERP system. Making it pricier. Perhaps, Per entry each time $15-20?

* Yes its expensive. But MRT is really convenient. Why bother to drive? If you are buying bulky things and need some sort of transport, you either pay $15-20 bucks more to drive in or pay a certain amount of money to get it delivered to your residence..there is also taxi hilux!. If you need to fetch old members of your family for dinner or an occassion...whats $15 per entry compared to a nice dinner with your family?

 

3)Lower the price of MRT & Buses.

* The garment did increase the price of it to ensure we have a world class transport. But do we need TV on bus? Screen on MRT showing us how to board a train? i rather they spend more money getting more buses and trains minus away the fancyful.

 

4)Changing the parking system

* Cost of parking in CBD should be increase, so less people drive to work. Also, the season parking lots should be allocated to workers who NEEDS to drive around for work.

 

E.G - Company cars/vans/lorrys.(Not your average general manager /HR manager/ office boy)

 

5)Changing people's mindset. ( Garment to provide a solution )

* People are usually thinking that they cannot live without there cars. Be it having to send kids to school, travel to work, or e.t.c. Thats not so true.

 

From my point of view, the garment is generally trying to provide a world class transport system and also at the same time not inflicting damages to the economy.

 

Less people buying cars = slow car sales

Salesman without cars = slow productivity

Pricer to delivery goods = higher cost

etc.

 

Personally, i am a salesman and i was 'told'that i really need a car for work (To get the job, thats what i was told). Yes, i do, as i mainly travel to construction sites where accessibility isn't as fortunate compared to those people working in the CBD. But really, i think a company car would be sufficient.

 

I really wouldn't mind taking a bus or mrt to work. When doing my routine sales meeting, i could either manage my time properly, so i can grab a bus/train for meeting or carpooling with my fellow company sales man and drive the company car ..

 

So you know what i mean.

 

Its all in the mindset. Somehow we can live without a car.

[Curahee]

Sporean mindset is i buy car, muz die die use it to the max to make it wirthwhile. Like my neighbour, he go to hawker center eat also drive there to eat. The hawker center is juz across the road reach already kind of distance. Less den 200 meter away from the flat. I walk there even faster den drive there. Haha!

[Titanium]

Change the transport minister ... ...

 

Change the transport minister ... ...

[Chickenfarm]

Extreme situation calls for extreme measures

 

Simple to solve the congestion problem:

 

(1) Beating red light = confiscate car;

(2) Illegal parking = confiscate car;

(3) Exceed speed limit = confiscate car;

(4) Stopping on double yellow line = confiscate car;

(5) failure to form up properly = confiscate car;

 

simply put...any kind of traffic offence oso = confiscate car.

 

If this scheme is implemented...there can only be 2 outcome. One is pple are so frightened that their car will be confiscated, they cut down on using their cars. Then the congestion problem is solved. Two is pple heck care still maximise the use of their cars. More use equals more chances of committing a traffic offence equals more confiscated cars. End result; traffic congestion is solved.

 

[Ahyoo2002]

Drive there no need to put coupon?

[Fondue]

We have this mindset because cars are REALLY expensive over hear. Extreme price calls for extreme usage

 

If car price are at a reasonable level, like OPC or like USA or Australia, I won't be pressured to use it at every opportunity.

 

I may be able to afford the ERP and parking in CBD, but if it takes me 1 hr to find a place to park, I would definitely consider taking public transport or park-n-ride.

 

Many citis have been critisied for not building enough parking facilities, but this also result in less people driving in the city area cos people just can't find a place to park. This can also have a ngitive effect, but I'm sure our millionaire talents could easily come up with a system to balance the equation (hopefully, not just higher pay ).

[Friendstar]

Change the transport minister ... ...

 

 

This is the first reply and the most WITTY one =)

[Galantspeedz]

Frankly, car price now, compared to 10years ago, have come down quite a lot.

Take the benchmark Toyota Corolla 1.6L. in 1998, it was going for something like $103,900 (if i'm not wrong cause i was considering that car but couldnt afford it then and had to buy Korean car).

Today, Toyota Corolla Altis is about $60,000.

Factor in the inflation over the last 10 years, and the car price have actually come down by almost 50%.

All these are due to lower ARF (110% now compared to 150% then), custom excise duty (20% now compared to 40% then) and COE premium (due to higher COE quota).

 

Roadtax have been reduced quite significantly.

1.6L car used to be paying $500+(capacity of car - 1000 x $1.00) = $1100.

Now, the same car pays $500 + (capacity of car - 1000 x $0.75) x 0.92 = $874

Which is $226 less, or about 20.5% less.

 

While the daily Area Licensing System around CBD has been replaced by ERP for nearly 12 years now, and pay-as-you-use road system was only implemented partially.

 

If let's say you spend $10 on ERP a day, that'll be about $220 per month (only monday to friday which is about 22 days a month). Which will be about $2640 per year. Multiply this by 10 years, you will be spending $26400 in 10 years of driving.

 

If you use the same Toyota Corolla example earlier, assuming the OMV is $18k.

The difference in ARF + CE between 1998 and now is approx 40% + 20% respectively. Which works out to be $10800 less.

COE in 1998 was $40k... now is $15k.... diff is 25k

Road tax savings per year is $226 x 10 = $2260.

Add all these savings --> $10800 + $25000 + $2260 = $38060.

 

Subtract this from the ERP you'll be paying if you use the road $38060 - $26400 = $11660.

You still gain $11660. And we have not calculated the upfront cost you have to pay + interest if you loan to buy a car. Daily usage would save you the bank interest.

 

While the overall cost of ownership have come down, the usage cost have gone up. But in total, the cost of driving have not changed significantly, without taking into account rising fuel cost as it is beyond the control of the government and affects not only our country.

 

Rant as we want about rising cost, if tax structure did not change, many of us could not afford a car in the first place, and would be taking public transport anyway.

 

So, i guess everyone have to get use to the new pay-as-you-use system, and plan you route carefully everyday to avoid incurring additional ERP.

 

very good.... same sentiments. but you miss 1 very important point

 

103k toyota after 10yrs rebate is about 50k cuz 1.4X of OMV

 

now 60k toyota, after 10yrs you get back about 10k?

 

so in actual fact, 40k - 11k = 29k (loss)

 

overall still more expensive, which is on par with inflation...

[Zniper]

btw, the lor 6 tat erp... the garment still say they need to monitor the traffic there for a time being b4 implementing... it's a real stupid from dun noe which FT... now the whole gantry is up than they say need to monitor... why cant they monitor first b4 building the gantry??