Electronic Revolutionary Pioneer

In this new series, The Straits Times examines the local roots of global creations — starting with road congestion pricing

- Teo Kai Xiang

Have you ever felt like you are spending days in a bad traffic jam? In some of the world's most congested cities, you literally do. In Dublin, Manila and Bengaluru, drivers lose over 100 hours a year to rush hour traffic.

Closer to home, Singapore motorists lost 63 hours a year to rush hour traffic in 2024, according to technology firm TomTom's traffic index.

The question of how to manage the Republic's traffic has a twofold solution: the introduction of the certificate of entitlement (COE) system in 1990 and the launch of congestion pricing on roads through the Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) in 1975.

While the COE remains uniquely Singaporean, congestion pricing has spread globally.

"Singapore was the pioneer in the implementation of road congestion pricing," says Dr Phang Sock Yong, a professor of economics at Singapore Management University. "When Singapore implemented the ALS in 1975, it was the first city in the world to do so."

Singapore was also the first to implement the evolved version of the ALS, now known as the automated Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system, in 1998, ahead of cities such as British capital London and Swedish capital Stockholm.

As the idea gains traction across the world, cities from Jakarta to New York looking to address severe congestion have turned to Singapore as an example, with the city-state frequently appearing in reports and headlines discussing the policy's impact.

Dr David Banks, a lecturer in the department of geography, planning and sustainability at the State University of New York at Albany, tells The Straits Times: "In nearly every report about NYC's congestion pricing, there is a mention of Singapore, among other cities, as a means of showing that big cities have implemented congestion pricing for years."

But what exactly makes the ERP so novel? And why has congestion pricing become a lightning rod for criticism from figures like US President Donald Trump?