Managing Road Traffic in Singapore

The Area Licensing Scheme (ALS), is also used to control the traffic flow in the CBD. Motorists have to pay for the use of certain roads in Singapore which were Restricted Zones. Improvement of bus services, increased cost of parking in the city, and the Park and Ride Scheme’s implementation were used to discourage people from driving into the city area. It was very successful. Before the implementation of the ALS, there were 32’500 vehicles entering the CBD from 7.30 am to 9.30 am. After the implementation of the ALS, there were only 7’700 vehicles entering the CBD. Thus, the ALS has been very useful in controlling traffic flow in Singapore, only to be succeeded by the Electronic Road Pricing. The ERP system provides a targeted solution for congestion pricing by allowing the authorities to pin-point specific congestion spots and vary the congestion charge according to prevailing traffic patterns. Therefore, the charges can either increase or decrease according to the demand of usage of the priced-road or expressway. By pricing congested stretches, ERP system helps to moderate and spread out vehicle usage for optimal usage of the road network by encouraging motorists to consider alternatives. These would include using other roads to arrive at their destinations, travel during the off-peak periods, use of public transport or car-pooling. Since its introduction, the ERP system has been effective in managing traffic congestion and resulted in improvements to traffic conditions as traffic congestion in many parts of Singapore have been reduced. Therefore, it clearly shows that

In conlusion, the Park and Ride Scheme has not been very useful in managing traffic flow unlike the other two which are shown to be very effective in managing traffic flow as they however, are mandatory, not voluntary. However, although the Park and Ride scheme may not be very useful in the past, it may be in the future.