To avoid paying electronic road pricing (ERP) charges, motorists use collateral roads but once the latter become congested, another gantry is erected to speed up traffic.

I urge MOT to first ensure that the prescribed waiting times and expansion of bus and rail capacity are rigidly adhered to before putting the screws on owners of private vehicles.

I am not confident the incumbent operators would strictly follow the shortened service frequency times as mandated.

Dr Lim Boon Hee

MORE electronic road pricing gantries and higher ERP rates would inevitably accelerate operating costs for businesses which rely heavily on private transportation.

Rising business costs could cause Singapore to lose its competitiveness and contribute to a steeper inflation rate in the long term.

The decrease in productivity loss due to traffic improvement should be monitored closely against the increase in business operating costs.

Higher ERP charges would certainly result in immediate traffic improvement but the current situation may resurface in the long run if improvements to the public-transportation system are not made urgently.

The recently-announced new MRT lines, such as the Thomson Line and Eastern Region Line, will be available only in a decade.

Until viable options are fully available, the pace of rising private-transport cost should be kept in line with improvements in accessibility, availability and efficiency of the public-transportation system, particularly the future MRT lines.

Amos Toh Hiap Soon