5.1 Measures to control the flow of Traffic

• Area Licensing Scheme– 1970s Singapore experienced rapid growth– Traffic volume was especially high during

peak hours– Government made plans to manage traffic

before it became too serious

5.1 Measures to control the flow of Traffic

• Area Licensing Scheme– Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) introduced– Motorists had to pay for use of certain roads– Roads bounded within areas designated as

Restricted Zones– Gantries set up to monitor motorists

5.1 Measures to control the flow of Traffic

• Area Licensing Scheme– To support ALS, other measure introduced

• Improving bus services• Increasing cost of parking city areas• Providing park-and-ride facilities

– When ALS started, motorists were unhappy– However ALS reduced the number of cars– Overall, ALS was successful in ensuring

smooth traffic flow

5.1 Measures to control the flow of Traffic

• Electronic Road Pricing– ALS successful but room for improvement– Improved technology = more efficient ways of

monitoring and regulating– Technology enabled transport system to stay

relevant– Inconvenient & labour-intensive ALS replaced

by Electronic Road Pricing (ERP)– ERP more efficient and effective

5.1 Measures to control the flow of Traffic

• Park-and-Ride Scheme– Introduced at same time as ALS– Motorists park vehicles at specific car parks

outside the CBD– Motorists would use public transport from the

car parks– Fewer vehicles in the CBD

5.1 Measures to control the flow of Traffic

• Park-and-Ride Scheme– Seemed like a good idea but not successful– What went wrong?– Motorists switched to public transport or drove

in before 7.30am– Not worthwhile for motorists to leave cars

parked outside city all day

5.1 Measures to control the flow of Traffic

• Park-and-Ride Scheme– Serious oversight– Millions of dollars invested– Land allocated for car park not used– Shuttle bus companies set up for this scheme

not able to survive– However, scheme still used today– Needs of people change and what did not

work in the past may work today

5.1 Measures to control the flow of Traffic

• Vehicle Quota System (VQS)– Sharp increase in car ownership in 1990s– Urgent need to control car population– Land Transport Authority (LTA) determined

the number of new vehicles allowed for registration

– One of the ways to administer VQS was through the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) system

5.1 Measures to control the flow of Traffic

• Vehicle Quota System (VQS)– Specific number of new cars are issued based on a

quota by LTA– Car buyers must bid for COE before purchase of a car– LTA sets the quota for the month and quota premium

based on bids received– Successful bidders will pay for the COE– COE entitles vehicle ownership for 10 years– COE must be renewed after 10 years if owner still

wants to use the car