Electronic Road Pricing using GPS system

Land Transport Authority(LTA) of Singapore is testing a new global positioning system(GPS) which may well replace the existing Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system. This change removes the need for ERP gantries; each new gantry costs approximately 1 million SGD and although they can be removed and relocated to a new site for deployment in order to save costs, it is often inconvenient and expensive to do so. With GPS however, new ERP areas can be setup with more ease plus it's less time consuming. The new system will also require all vehicles to have their current In-vehicle Units (IUs) changed and operates as follows:

• Prior to entering the ERP zone, there will be a board sign indication that there is ERP in operation further ahead.
• If ERP is within 100m ahead, the new unit will sound and beep to inform the driver.
• The GPS system will track if the vehicle has entered the ERP zone.

Singapore is the first country to setup a large scale ERP system with the aim of reducing traffic levels on congested roads during peak hours.

Link: Lian He Zao Bao
Image: Wikipedia
Tags: ERP | Electronic Road Pricing | GPS | Global Positioning System | Satellite