Issues reported in 1.8% of cars with new ERP on-board units

Some motorists could not enter carparks, pay road charges due to unresponsive OBUs

- Lee Nian Tjoe

Around 5,400 cars have had problems with their Electronic Road Pricing on-board units (OBUs) since installation started in November 2023, including issues with wiring that have necessitated return visits to workshops.

This represents 1.8 per cent of around 300,000 cars that have had the unit installed so far, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) told The Straits Times on June 10.

LTA said that as at June, more than 500,000 vehicles—including other vehicle types such as commercial vehicles—have been fitted with OBUs. This means the installation exercise has crossed the halfway mark towards equipping the entire vehicle population of around 1 million units with OBUs by 2026.

The OBUs are used for road toll and carpark payments, among other things, as part of Singapore's move to the new ERP system, known as ERP 2.0.

LTA said: "As with any large-scale technology roll-out, some vehicles may experience issues that require follow-up checks."

Some motorists told ST they could not enter carparks or pay road charges with their OBUs, which became unresponsive.

A spokesman for Lim Tan Motor in Sin Ming said owners of around 5 per cent of the 200 or so cars on which the workshop has installed OBUs had gone back for help, mostly because carpark gantries could not detect the units.