I am pleased to note that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will be suspending Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charges until June 28 (No ERP charges at all gantries until at least June 28: LTA, June 1).

I believe that this is an opportune time to review the entire ERP system, which has expanded across the whole island beyond its original intention of spreading out peak-hour traffic into the Central Business District (CBD).

Today, we find gantries at Defu Flyover and in Toa Payoh, Eunos, Clementi and Hillview, as well as the Orchard Road and Singapore River cordons.

Even though Saturday is a non-working day, we have multiple gantries operating on mostly empty roads. Why is there a need for a Singapore River restriction on Saturdays? While we do not want perpetually congested streets, neither do we want underutilised roads in the prime CBD area.

I would go further and suggest that all gantries on roads leaving the CBD be removed. While morning peak hours are determined by work starting times, work ending times are more flexible, especially for motorists. Motorists would, therefore, have greater peace of mind in deciding when to leave work without worrying about gantry charges.

N. Varaprasad (Dr)