According to Transport Minister Raymond Lim, the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) scheme increased traffic speed to 50kmh on a stretch of the Central Expressway (CTE) from Bukit Timah to the Pan-Island Expressway, after a gantry was introduced last year.

He said that 10 per cent of the 7,700 vehicles that were using it stopped doing so. My view is that there is an unrelated reason.

When the ERP gantry went up at the end of October, the school holidays were already beginning. Traffic was already reduced as there were few or no private cars and school buses ferrying school children.

Drivers who frequent the CTE daily in the evening know that the traffic is smooth during the school-holiday period. This is especially so in December when Singaporeans holiday abroad.

Thus, the Government should consider removing the ERP during the major school-holiday periods, that is, in June and between November and December. I am certain average traffic speeds are faster during these periods, without the ERP.

Teng Kee Yew