With MCE, motorists pay more ERP charges

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With MCE, motorists pay more ERP charges

January 24th, 2014 | Author: Online Press

Major crawl on second day of MCE opening


With the opening of the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) and removal of part of the East Coast Parkway (ECP), many motorists have been forced to make detours or take different routes. But they are slapped with Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charges when they travel on these alternative routes.

Previously, when motorists travelled from Ophir Road to the ECP, there was no ERP charge.

But with the MCE’s opening, motorists are forced to travel from Ophir Road to Sheares Avenue to reach the new expressway. They have to pay ERP charges just before the turn to Central Boulevard.
Why is this so when this is the only route they can use to travel westwards?

The ERP gantry should be moved farther down after the turn to Central Boulevard, so that only motorists travelling to the Central Business District will be charged ERP fees, and not those who are taking the MCE.
As ERP is used to improve traffic flow in high-volume traffic areas, why was this gantry already operational when traffic volume after the route changes was not even analysed first?

Motorists travelling from the ECP to Rochor Road face a similar situation.

Previously, there was only one ERP gantry. But after the MCE’s opening, motorists have to exit Central Boulevard, where they are slapped with an ERP charge, and then again on Sheares Avenue before they can reach Rochor Road.

With the MCE’s opening, it is disappointing that motorists need to travel longer to reach destinations previously accessible by the ECP, and have to pay more because of the detours.

Tan Lai Soon

* Letter first appeared in ST Forum (23 Jan).


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