ابزار پیشرفته مدیریت تقاضا در حمل و نقل شهری: قیمت گذاری راه الکترونیکی در سنگاپور

Road pricing is a demand management instrument that has been effectively used in Singapore to help alleviate traffic congestion beginning with the Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) in 1975 and, subsequently, the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system in 1998. The paper discusses the level of motorisation in the city-state, the traffic problems faced and the development of the ERP system. The operational and technical features of the system, its impacts, advantages and limitations are then carefully examined. Valuable lessons are drawn on how to successfully implement an electronic road pricing system.

Singapore, an island city-state with a land area of 647.8 km2 and a population of 3.1 million in 1997, is a very densely populated city with over 4700 persons per km2, a density which is one of the highest in the world. The island, which lies 137 km north of the equator, faces a severe constraint of land scarcity. In 1997, the total built-up area in Singapore totalled 322.2 km2, which is a huge 49.7% of its total land area. Road infrastructure occupied some 11.0% of the total land area. Despite its physical constraints, Singapore has climbed rapidly from being a developing country with a GNP per capita income of US$800 in 1965 to a newly industrialising economy in 1997 with an estimated GNP per capita income of US$26 475, a figure which ranks highly among Asian countries. In 1997, the transport and communications sector of the economy contributed a significant 11.1% of GDP, employed some 210 000 people and absorbed 18.1% of annual consumer expenditure.

While many cities seem to be talking about electronic road pricing or are experimenting with it, Singapore was actually able to launch and implement it successfully. Despite the huge investment cost of the ERP system, its implementation appears justifiable in Singapore as it is a vital component to the achieving of the key objective of the country's land transport policy viz the alleviation of traffic congestion. The ALS, a manual road pricing scheme started in 1975, laid the foundations for the more technologically advanced ERP system. The early experiences so far with the ERP system have shown it to be efficient and effective in curbing traffic congestion. As a system which selectively imposes charges on vehicles by type of vehicle, place and time using the main criteria of contribution to congestion, it has led to a more allocatively efficient level of traffic volume and better utilisation of road capacity. The system was also found to be equitable, flexible and reliable. Various prerequisites and limitations of the system need to be considered for the ERP system to be successfully implemented in other cities.