Minister Raymond Lim was stumped by residents' query on ERP.
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At the forum with Minister Raymond Lim televised today over Channel 5, it is obvious that the Minister was unable to answer to the irate Thomson residents' query : "We don't mind to pay the ERP but what we are frustrated is despite paying the ERP the traffic situation does not improve."
Minister was unable to satisfy the residents in his reply: "If we do not have ERP, traffic will get worse. That is why we have other measures including COEs and better bus services. Just like the bus service if we abolish the fee increases bus fleet may go down and eventually service will go down."
It is so sad that the ERP has been proposed as the ultimate solution to the traffic congestion problem but now the residents have to bear higher and higher costs and unlike being presented as the final solution it has not solve the traffic problem at all despite all the fees being paid.
The residents in Thomson are right in saying that if we cannot solve the problem now with ERP we might as well let it go back to square one and abolish ERP instead of paying all the monies and causing costs of living to go up and yet traffic situation is getting worse. -
Is there a repeat telecast ? I want to watch
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Sure it will be watch for repeat over TV perhaps Channel 5 tonight.
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they jam the pipe here, the water will find somewhere else to flow
then they will try block the pipe again, and the water will still go through another channel...... -
build bigger pipes or use less water...
but bigger pipes = more money spent..
less water = less revenue from duty collected...
so status quo... besides, since when ministers travel the same roads as us mortals
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it take brains to squeeze the juice out from the peasants
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and what would the situation be like once population hits 6mil..?
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To think MRT frequency is fixed by LTA...
8 mins is fixed by LTA -
the elites build a few more country clubs...Originally posted by 4getmenot:and what would the situation be like once population hits 6mil..?
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don't understand. they don't use the same roads then how they travel?Originally posted by the Bear:so status quo... besides, since when ministers travel the same roads as us mortals -
a resident was asking if sin min is going to be the funeral hub as the authorities had approved another funeral service location......lol......
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Funeral hub ?Originally posted by countdracula:a resident was asking if sin min is going to be the funeral hub as the authorities had approved another funeral service location......lol...... -
since when their homes in these 'cheapo' places like HDB?Originally posted by Icemoon:don't understand. they don't use the same roads then how they travel?
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yeah.. why not?
soon Singapore will be a hub for hubs...Originally posted by Trump_Card:Funeral hub ? -
oh they do somewhat, but must notice the places they stay seems to have big good roads. + they get to have the TP make absurd jams to clear the way for them on busy roadsOriginally posted by Icemoon:don't understand. they don't use the same roads then how they travel? -
You think the minister is smart? No matter how much is the ERP we still have to pay, there is only one way traffic, so have congestion in peak hour, Clementi Rd every morning also congestion, then put ERP lor, their aim is to collect $$, jam or no jam is your problem
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But they got watch TV or listen to radio or not?Originally posted by hisoka:oh they do somewhat, but must notice the places they stay seems to have big good roads. + they get to have the TP make absurd jams to clear the way for them on busy roads
Isn't it obvious ERP not gonna solve the problem? -
why nobody mention build *more* pipes like the KPE?Originally posted by the Bear:build bigger pipes or use less water...
but bigger pipes = more money spent..
less water = less revenue from duty collected...
so status quo... besides, since when ministers travel the same roads as us mortals -
they did... and stuck an ERP gantry thereOriginally posted by Icemoon:why nobody mention build *more* pipes like the KPE?
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i seriously doubt they watch local tv esp news and such unless its for work reasons. they should get news summary updates from the departments/underlings.Originally posted by Icemoon:But they got watch TV or listen to radio or not?
Isn't it obvious ERP not gonna solve the problem?
edit: besides, i doubt they really care in the sense of it being not their problem. and the fact that hearing about problems in a vacuum makes it sound so much less severe. -
Residents said they could not understand why funerals must be built into hubs and they asked who is going to pay for their loss of property value.Originally posted by the Bear:yeah.. why not?
soon Singapore will be a hub for hubs... -
is making of a home more important than property values?
really... this is not about money but about the heart... and home is where the heart is..Originally posted by robertteh:Residents said they could not understand why funerals must be built into hubs and they asked who is going to pay for their loss of property value. -
Of course they don't lar, otherwise how to justify paying high salaries to their ka kia scholars who come up with bright ideas like the ERP or CPF annuities for ministers to shell out every 1/5 of the year to make it seem like they're actually doing something.Originally posted by Icemoon:But they got watch TV or listen to radio or not?
Isn't it obvious ERP not gonna solve the problem? -
The problem with ERP is that the govt isn't truly honest in trying to 'solve' it.Originally posted by robertteh:At the forum with Minister Raymond Lim televised today over Channel 5, it is obvious that the Minister was unable to answer to the irate Thomson residents' query : "We don't mind to pay the ERP but what we are frustrated is despite paying the ERP the traffic situation does not improve."
Minister was unable to satisfy the residents in his reply: "If we do not have ERP, traffic will get worse. That is why we have other measures including COEs and better bus services. Just like the bus service if we abolish the fee increases bus fleet may go down and eventually service will go down."
It is so sad that the ERP has been proposed as the ultimate solution to the traffic congestion problem but now the residents have to bear higher and higher costs and unlike being presented as the final solution it has not solve the traffic problem at all despite all the fees being paid.
The residents in Thomson are right in saying that if we cannot solve the problem now with ERP we might as well let it go back to square one and abolish ERP instead of paying all the monies and causing costs of living to go up and yet traffic situation is getting worse.
Someone once said unpopular decisions need to be made by a mature leader. Such a decision is needed...now. If they want to make ERP successful, they can up the ERP price to an exhorbitant cost...say SGD20/- and implement it with a month's notice.
Complimentary to that, they can set staggered rates at different times of the day with different prices.
Other suggestions that compliment ERP is the use of directional flow changes depending on traffic trends, an enforced car pool lane system and odd-even car restrictions on alternate days.
Of course the public will bawk at these proposals, but hey, no one said the solution would be easy.
H.ell, it's better than letting them suck our coffers with incremental ERP hikes and still create the facade that they seem 'intent' on improving the problem? -
If we go back to the parliament debates many years ago, the ministers in charge of transportation were on record as saying in the initial years that vehicle excise duty was not a good tool to allocate road usage so subsequently suggested introduction of COE which was claimed to be more equitable in doing so.Originally posted by BillyBong:The problem with ERP is that the govt isn't truly honest in trying to 'solve' it.
Someone once said unpopular decisions need to be made by a mature leader. Such a decision is needed...now. If they want to make ERP successful, they can up the ERP price to an exhorbitant cost...say SGD20/- and implement it with a month's notice.
Complimentary to that, they can set staggered rates at different times of the day with different prices.
Other suggestions that compliment ERP is the use of directional flow changes depending on traffic trends, an enforced car pool lane system and odd-even car restrictions on alternate days.
Of course the public will bawk at these proposals, but hey, no one said the solution would be easy.
H.ell, it's better than letting them suck our coffers with incremental ERP hikes and still create the facade that they seem 'intent' on improving the problem?
After COE was introduced although excise duty was supposedly or promised to be replaced by COE excise duty remained at 170% of OMV for many years which was only slowly reduced to about 130% some years later.
So this COE constituted some sort of double taxation on the middle class for many years depriving them of disposable income and causing the economy essentially to be slowed down or retarded as a result.
COE did not seem to solve the problem so minister later went to parliament to propose ERP as a more equitable way to price road usage. The emphasis was laid on road usage as it was said to be the final and ultimate solution to road congestion.
After the above-stated COE and ERP the middle class citizens were being fleeced by the hundreds of thousands in the work cycle of 30-40 years just to feed ministers' million-dollar salaries.
Where is the final solution to road congestion. For all you know there may have to be another REP (repeated error pricing) or RIP(road interlocution pricing) in order to finally put to rest the road congestion problem but citizens will have to wait for another decade to hear excuses why four solutions are not enough to solve problem with new excuses such as road congestion requires some other total or holistic final solution.