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ERP readers to be replaced with free satellite-based units from 2021: LTA

SINGAPORE — Motorists will have to replace their vehicle's Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) readers from the second half of next year, as the authorities prepare to roll out the new satellite-based ERP system in mid-2023.

The new on-board unit (OBU) has a touchscreen display that can provide real-time road traffic updates.

The new on-board unit (OBU) has a touchscreen display that can provide real-time road traffic updates.

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SINGAPORE — Motorists will have to replace their vehicle's Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) readers from the second half of next year, as the authorities prepare to roll out the new satellite-based ERP system in mid-2023.

The replacement of in-vehicle units (IUs) with the new on-board units (OBUs) will be free for existing Singapore-registered vehicles and will take place over 18 months, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in a statement on Tuesday (Sept 8).

Resembling a smartphone, the more sophisticated OBU has a touchscreen display that can provide real-time road traffic updates, and locations of nearby school zones and silver zones to alert motorists to look out for children and seniors.

The touchscreen display, together with the antenna, will be mounted on the windscreen near where the IUs are now installed. A separate processing unit will be installed beneath the dashboard. The new system will work with existing cards for ERP and car park payments.

The new OBU has a separate processing unit (pictured). Photo: LTA

Motorcycles will be fitted with a smaller single-piece design.

The replacement of the IU with the OBU is mandatory for all Singapore-registered vehicles, aside from some exceptions such as tractors, construction vehicles, airport vehicles and some classic and vintage vehicles.

LTA said: “The ERP system was first introduced more than 20 years ago in 1998 and the infrastructure is reaching the end of its operational life. In the meantime, technology has advanced and offers us better solutions.” 

As the OBU uses the global navigation satellite system, the next-generation ERP system will collect data from users, LTA said, adding that it will only use anonymised or aggregated data for traffic management and transport planning purposes.

Vehicle-specific data will be used only for payment, charges and enforcement while summons related to non-payments will largely continue to be auto-generated.

“To prevent unauthorised access and improper use of the data, there will be robust security and strict safeguards in place, including penalties under the Public Service (Governance) Act,” LTA said.

The new on-board unit (OBU) for motorcycles. Photo: LTA

With the move to the next-generation ERP system, the “bulky” gantries now will also be phased out and replaced by smaller ones at the ERP locations.

The authorities previously stated that they aimed to roll out the new ERP system from 2020, but LTA said in its latest statement that the installations will begin next year “due to the impact of Covid-19 on global supply chains”.

LTA’s then-chief executive Chew Men Leong had said in 2016 that the new ERP system can “provide the option… to look at how we can charge motorists based on the distance (they travel on) priced roads”.

The authorities, however, stressed that the current ERP cordon-based congestion pricing framework will remain.

“How ERP works will not change,” Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung wrote on Facebook in a post on Tuesday reminiscing about the history of the ERP.

“What will change is (that) there is no need for big gantries anymore,” he added. Instead, they will be phased out with smaller ones at the ERP locations.

“All vehicles will be scheduled to do a replacement, which I was told takes less than an hour to install. LTA will come out with the details,” Mr Ong wrote.

In 2016, LTA awarded a S$556 million tender to a consortium comprising Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Engine System Asia and NCS to build the next-generation ERP system.

MHI Engine System Asia is an engine and generator manufacturer, while technology service provider NCS is a subsidiary of telecommunications company Singtel Group.

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