Behaviour of motorists during changeover of rates of the electronic road pricing system

• Main Author: Tan, Kelvin Yik Keong
• Other Authors: Gopinath Menon
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Civil engineering::Transportation
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/60742
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The Electronic Road Pricing system has seamlessly integrated itself into the lives of Singaporeans today. Although generally unpopular among motorists, it is certainly a necessary measure, particularly given Singapore’s limited land area. This dual project attempted to shed some light on drivers’ behaviour and attitudes with respect to the ERP system. Traffic volume data was also provided by the Land Transport Authority for the analysis. In summary, two studies were performed. The first being the spot speed study, where it was found that motorists tend to speed up while approaching an ERP gantry, but more so before the ERP begins operation than during any other price period. The Graduated Electronic Pricing scheme was also established to be largely effective in helping to curb drivers’ tendencies to speed. The project also found that the hourly profile of motorcyclists entering the Restricted Zone displayed a notably different trend from that of cars, and that motorcyclists appear to be more price-sensitive as compared to car owners. In our second study, the drivers’ survey questionnaire, only 18% of the drivers surveyed indicated a ‘4’ or ‘5’ (out of 5) when asked about how familiar they were with ERP prices and locations, which suggests that the majority of drivers perhaps do not feel the pinch of congestion pricing as much as before due to a rise in affluence. Nevertheless, ERP remains a key consideration for motorists with regards to trip planning, and will stay as an essential part of Singapore’s transportation landscape in the years to come.