If ERP is indeed to be a more equitable way to serve as final road pricing mechanism as announced, then it should apply the principle of traffic redistribution.
However it is noticed that when new ERP gantry is to be set up on the same route, the rates at existing ERP gantries now partly covered by the upstream ERP and other adjoining ones are not re-adjusted downward to reflect the new equilibrium or redistribution of total traffic entering CBD.
If the same downstream ERP remains at the same rate, while new ERP gantries are added to the same route to town, what in effect LTA is doing is to conveniently assume the motorists entering the new gantry are all first-time motorists entering CBD. This method is double-charging.
Is it not a fact that when an additional gantry is put up on the same route upstream the earlier one is partly covered by the new gantry and its rates for purpose of road usage redistribution should be adjusted downward to reflect the true picture.
It reminds me of all the creative accounting by the only government in the world that defies all logics in squeesing monies such as in charging double on lands (already paid by citizens through taxes) and triple road usage charge on Excise/COE/ERP.
If a new ERP is to redistribute traffic flow to avoid congestion, the total traffic flow to CBD should be used to arrive at re-distribution percentage to be applied and the existing other ERP gantries reduced corresponding as they are now partly covered by the added ERP.
There is no logic in keeping the existing ERP rates along the same route at the down-stream the same unless the new gantry is totally contributing to overall traffic flow to town and not redistributions.
Is this the purpose of ERP as announced by ministers - to maximze revenue ? Why not impose an ERP tax like the property tax instead if there is no sense or logic in applying the road usage principle first announced.
It is a very odd logic that ERP like servant has said will now give the goverment another means to extract money from the world's highly taxed motorists. That the governing is so hungry to use all kinds of tactics to squeeze more monies out of long-suffering people is really frightening.
So the purpose of ERP is not to redistribute traffic congestions as announced from the fact that LTA would keep the downstream ERP at the same price while increasing or adding more gantries all along the same route to CBD.
It is sad to see our scholars cannot understand people's problems but are only interested in squeezing people of monies.
Conveniently, all additional ERP gantries automatically lead to increases of total revenues and not pricing of traffic congestions.
