Research into the impacts of electronic road pricing and in-vehicle unit on commercial drivers' perception and behaviour

• Main Author: Ang, Shang Le
• Other Authors: Wong Yiik Diew
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Engineering::Civil engineering::Transportation
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/150108
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

With land scarcity issues in Singapore, roads take up a total of 12% of land in Singapore. There is a need to plan in a way where roads are fully utilised and there is minimal congestion with an acceptable traffic flow volume. As Singapore progresses into a smart nation, technology has to improve and incorporate into the lives of Singaporeans. Being the pioneers of electronic road congestion pricing, Singapore will be replacing their 23 years old In-vehicle Unit (IU), the current Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charging device with the new On-Board Unit (OBU) by the end of 2021. The OBU consists of a total of 3 separate units, the antenna, the touchscreen pad, and the processing unit. The touchscreen pad is able to display 5 different features and functions, mainly Estimated Travel Time, Traffic Conditions, Parking Information, Incident and Road Works, and Alerts. However, at this point of time, the OBU is still in the planning stage and LTA is still refining the OBU and gearing up for the launch. The project details the information and functionality of the IU and OBU by surveying the behaviour and perception of commercial drivers and finally to tackle the potential issues faced by the drivers. In this project, a total of five locations mainly – Jalan Bahar Heavy Vehicle Park, Jurong East Heavy Vehicle Parking, Tradehub 21, Jurong Point Loading and Unloading Area and Midview City at Sin Ming Lane, are chosen for the conduct of the behavioural and perception survey. These five locations were chosen for the respective groups of respondents mainly – Very Heavy Goods Vehicle (VHGV), Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) drivers, Light Goods Vehicle (LGV) drivers, Delivery Riders, and Private Hire drivers. The aim of the survey is to understand the views and the needs of commercial drivers on issues regarding the usage of the IU and OBU. The questionnaire tackles on the behavioural and perception aspects as well as their recommendations and suggestions for the road pricing system. With the survey results and feedback from drivers, the report is able to give recommendations on how to improve the OBU design and enhance its user experience. Based on the findings of the study, commercial drivers are negative when it comes to Road Pricing Scheme (RPS) in Singapore. Many of them understood the importance of having ERP in Singapore but are unwilling to pay for a high ERP charge. Some are comfortable with the current IU system and are afraid of the complexity of the new OBU system. Nevertheless, they have given good suggestions and inputs on how to improve the next-generation ERP systems. The commercial drivers hope that the flaws of the current IU will not be replicated onto the new OBU. As commercial drivers drive for a living, the distance-based charging is rather demanding for them. They will end-up paying for more due to a higher mileage as compared to other private cars. The future of ERP is still uncertain and there are bound to have significant changes. Hopefully, with the gradual introduction of the next-generation ERP systems, Singaporeans in general will be able to get used to it.