A Singaporean's Guide to ERP Rates, Gantries & Operating Hours in Singapore (February 2021)

If you’re a driver or someone who takes taxis and uses ride-hailing services regularly.

The biggest bane that you face is the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charge.

With ERP rates varying anywhere between $0.50 to as high as $6.

Yep.

There’s a reason why we’re constantly ranked amongst one of the most expensive city in the world.

The small reprieve we get is that ERP rates and charges are reviewed every quarter.

And we usually see these adjustments during the June and December holiday period.

But now that we’re in Phase 3, ERP rates will be reviewed every five weeks instead.

So what are the latest ERP rates?

Let’s find out!

TL;DR: Changes in ERP Rates in Singapore 2021

We’ve been enjoying $0 ERP rates islandwide since 22 June 2020…

But given that traffic volume has been building up during weekday peak hours as more people start returning to work…

LTA is reverting to the pre-COVID-19 ERP gantry prices to manage traffic once more. 😢

So the ERP rates will be reduced at the following locations during the specified time periods.

Here’re the results from the LTA’s latest ERP rate review:

Wanna save time searching for this article every time you want to check what are the latest ERP rates?

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And as promised, here are the best hacks to avoid ERP fines:

Take this time to get these payment systems sorted out so once the ERPs start charging (islandwide) again.

You won’t find yourself in a situation where you’ll be slapped with an unnecessary ERP fine.

An Introduction to the ERP System

The ERP system is basically the government’s way of managing road congestion.

Whenever you pass through an ERP gantry during its operational hours, you will incur charges.

The ERP is to encourage drivers to:

• seek alternative routes to their destination
• travel outside ERP operation hours, or
• take public transport

This coupled with our high Certificate Of Entitlement and crazy petrol prices.

It’s basically the government subtly hinting, “Eh… Don’t drive lah…”

So… Where Will I Find ERP Gantries?

You’ll mostly find ERP gantries all over the Orchard cordon as well as the rest of the Central Business District.

That might not sound like a huge area but get this.

There are a total of 93 ERP gantries in operation — as of the time of writing.

ERP Rates in Singapore

The amount of ERP charge you pay depends on two things: your vehicle type and what time you pass the gantry.

Bigger vehicle types usually pay more.

For cars, in general, the ERP rates vary from anywhere between $0.50 to as high as $6.

As a rule of thumb, ERP charges are the highest from 8am to 9am because that’s when everyone is heading to work.

ERP Operating Hours and ERP Rate Reviews

ERP operating hours are only from Mondays to Saturdays.

And start as early as 8am until as late as 8pm.

The time periods are set in 30-minute or 1-hour intervals.

The only saving grace is that there are no ERP charges on Sundays and all public holidays.

Oh, you’ll also be pleased to note that the ERP also stops operating at 1 pm onwards on:

• Chinese New Year
• Christmas Day
• Deepavali
• Eve of New Year’s Day
• Hari Raya Puasa

Otherwise, the rates are reviewed once every quarter and also during June and December school holidays (read: kids don’t need to be sent to school and families are usually on vacation):

• January (for February to April)
• April (for May)
• May (for June)
• August (for September to November)
• November (for December)

The reviews usually affect the following ERP gantries:

• AYE after North Buona Vista Road (towards Tuas)
• AYE after Jurong Town Hall
• CTE before Braddell Road
• CTE after Braddell Road
• CTE slip road to PIE
• CTE southbound after Serangoon Road (and PIE)
• ECP (City)
• Kallang Road
• KPE after Defu Flyover
• PIE after Adam Road and Mount Pleasant
• PIE Bendemeer Road and Woodsville Tunnel
• Thomson Road

If you’re kiasu like me.

I usually check the LTA Newsroom to get the latest updates on ERP rate changes.

Can I Don’t Pay for ERP Charges?

CAN…

Just be ready to pay an ERP violation fine instead.

As long as you pass a gantry and did not pay your ERP charges due to:

• defective IU
• expired CashCard
• improperly inserted CashCard
• insufficient value in CashCard

You’ll hear a long beep emanating from your car’s IU unit.

After that, you’ll receive a notification within a couple of days notifying you to make payment within 2 weeks.

Here’re the ERP violations and accompanying fines at a glance:

FYI: You can save $2 by paying for your violation through:

• One.Motoring
• AXS station, e-Station, m-Station
• S.A.M kiosks
• iNETS kiosks
• Internet or electronic banking

If you fail to pay within 2 weeks, you’ll be slapped with a $70 fine and a Notice of Traffic Offence.

And if you still don’t pay after 28 days, you’ll be invited to attend a court hearing.

Long story, short?

JUST PAY LAH.

Hacks To Avoid An ERP Fine

The best way to avoid paying an ERP fine is to make sure that you always have a fully topped up, functioning CashCard that is properly inserted into your IU unit.

But a smarter way would be to automate this just in case you ever forget or can’t find a functioning Nets Top-Up machine nearby.

Here are four simple hacks to avoid EVER having to pay an ERP fine.

1) EZ-Pay

EZ-Pay is a post-paid, cardless payment service by EZ-Link.

It’s a free service to use.

Basically, it allows you to use your bank credit or debit cards to pay for ERP and parking charges.

Simply register for an EZ-Pay account with your vehicle number and NRIC/FIN number.

Add the details of your preferred credit or debit card.

Note: only VISA and MasterCard credit or debit cards issued by Citibank and POSB/DBS are accepted for now.

An email with the effective start date of EZ-Pay for your vehicle will be sent to you within 2 working days.

Even if you forget to insert a card into the IU or have insufficient value, the ERP charge will simply be deducted from your EZ-Pay account!

2) Nets Contactless Cashcard

You can purchase a Nets Contactless CashCard at:

• Convenience stores (eg. 7-11 and Cheers) for $10 (inclusive of $5 stored value)
• NETS Online Sales Portal for $5 (not inclusive of stored value)
• VICOM for $10 (inclusive of $5 stored value)

Then all you have to do is heads to the NETS website and register for Auto Top-Up.

Whenever your Contactless Cashcard’s balance is insufficient, it will automatically be topped up with your stipulated amount.

This way, you’ll never forget to top-up your cashcard or have to look for a NETS Top-Up machine to do so.

Note: there are some carparks which aren’t equipped to read contactless cashcards yet so you’ll still need to have a chip-based cashcard, just in case

3) Nets vCashCard

Virtual CashCard (vCashCard) is a pre-paid, cashless payment service.

Best of all, it’s a free service to use.

However, a $0.50 top-up fee is charged for each auto top-up of $50 (fixed amount).

Note: only AMEX, VISA, and MasterCard credit or debit cards are accepted for now.

For DBS/POSB and UOB cardholders, the top-up fee is waived until further notice.

All you have to do is register for a vCashCard account and top it up with your registered credit or debit card, or bank account.

If your CashCard is in the IU when passing through a gantry, the ERP charge will be deducted from the CashCard.

If your CashCard has insufficient value, the full ERP amount will be deducted from the vCashCard that you registered.