LTA to remove most of live traffic video feeds, some electronic signboards in transition to ERP 2

SINGAPORE - The video feed of traffic conditions from most cameras in Singapore will be turned off from June 30 and some electronic signboards removed progressively, as part of the transition to the next-generation Electronic Road Pricing System (ERP 2).

Key traffic information, including road conditions and congestion alerts, will be provided by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) directly via ERP 2’s on-board unit (OBU), which all vehicles must have from Jan 1, 2027.

The only live video feeds that will continue to be in service cover the two land checkpoints in Woodlands and Tuas, and Sentosa Gateway.

Currently, the video feeds are available on OneMotoring, LTA’s online portal, and are also used by some third-party websites and apps to help motorists plan their journeys. The feeds have seen “relatively low utilisation”, LTA said.

On May 1, LTA informed users of its plans to switch off the video feeds on its OneMotoring website.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, an LTA spokesperson said that with the move to ERP 2, “LTA will provide key traffic information directly through the OBU, in addition to other traffic information platforms”.

“We are providing early notice to allow members of the public to adjust accordingly. Motorists can continue to access road conditions, congestion alerts and incident information through OBUs, OneMotoring, the MyTransport.SG mobile app, radio stations and publicly available navigation applications,” the spokesperson said.

As for app developers currently using the traffic camera feeds, LTA said that it will be engaging with them to ensure a smooth transition to other available data sources – like traffic speed and incident data.

One mobile app that relies on the camera feeds and LTA data is SG Traffic & ERP, which has been around since 2019, and has between 300 and 500 daily users.

Its developer, Mr Tri Do, told ST that app users rely on the visuals to check for possible congestion before travelling, adding that the images are especially useful when there is heavy rain or a traffic accident.

He is glad that the traffic camera feeds at the checkpoints will remain in service as they are more heavily used on the app than those of other roads. With the changes, he plans to have the app use traffic speed data, congestion analytics and other publicly available transport data sets to continue providing live traffic information to its users.

Mr Dennis Boey, 67, uses a third-party website to check the live video feeds of the checkpoints before he drives to Malaysia. But he said he is not affected by LTA’s impending removal of the video feeds for other roads in Singapore, as he relies on the Google Maps app to find out about road conditions.

Google Maps uses colour codes to reflect traffic conditions on a user’s route: blue for smooth-flowing traffic, amber for slight congestion and red for heavy congestion.

However, Mr Boey, a retired project management specialist, believes that the electronic signboards for traffic notifications should remain because there are many foreign-registered vehicles using the roads that will not have the OBU to receive traffic information.

Mr William Yap, 39, pointed out that electronic signboards that provide estimated travel times and congestion alerts are especially useful for motorcyclists like himself. The OBU on a motorbike, which has a smaller display screen than the ones in cars and lorries, currently does not show any traffic alerts.

Mr Yap, who works in the oil and gas sector, finds it distracting to look at devices like the OBU or his smartphone’s navigation app when he is on the move.

He said: “When I am riding, my attention has to be on the road and not anywhere else.”