BY YEAR-END, the top of gantries will flash the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charges that motorists have to pay when driving on a road with heavy traffic.

Transport Minister Raymond Lim hopes that showing prominently how much they have to pay will help motorists to make a 'considered decision'.

Currently, the information is given on signs at the side of the road ahead of some ERP gantries.

Sometimes, these are too small to read, he conceded.

ERP charges were a hot topic during the debate on the Transport Ministry's budget on Thursday.

The topic was raised by at least nine MPs, two of whom argued against the effectiveness of the ERP as a tool for easing congestion.

They were Mr Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade GRC) and Mr Hri Kumar (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC).

Their point: Why induce people to buy cars, make it very expensive to drive and then hope they use their cars only occasionally?

Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.