[h=1]LTA’S ERP REPLY DID NOT ADDRESS REAL ISSUE[/h]
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1 Nov 2014 - 4:19pm
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The Land Transport Authority (“LTA looking at other ERP payment modes”; last Friday) did not address Mr Mahinder Singh’s suggestion to give motorists a grace period for paying Electronic Road Pricing charges (“ERP payments: Give grace period”; Oct 17).
His point was about giving motorists a grace period of a day to make good on their outstanding ERP charges without having to pay an administrative fee, and not about ensuring sufficient value in their CashCards.
The LTA’s justification for the administrative fee, that it is to cover costs from back-end checks and processes, is not satisfactory.
ERP has been in operation for so many years, surely the system would be sophisticated enough to handle such a simple task. It does not seem productive or environmentally friendly to charge $10 to retrieve data, print a notice and mail it.
A grace period for unpaid toll charges is common in many countries. In the United States, for instance, a motorist has 48 hours to make payment by calling a toll-free number and charging the amount to his credit card.
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In Singapore, we could allow payment via the Internet or mobile devices. When the grace period is over, the administrative fee or a fine can be imposed.
Francis Yeoh (Dr)
* Letter first appeared in ST Forum, 30 Oct.
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1 Nov 2014 - 4:19pm
<ins id="aswift_0_expand" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: inline-table; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><ins id="aswift_0_anchor" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: block; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><iframe name="aswift_0" width="336" height="280" id="aswift_0" frameBorder="0" marginWidth="0" marginHeight="0" scrolling="no" vspace="0" hspace="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="left: 0px; top: 0px; position: absolute;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></ins></ins>
The Land Transport Authority (“LTA looking at other ERP payment modes”; last Friday) did not address Mr Mahinder Singh’s suggestion to give motorists a grace period for paying Electronic Road Pricing charges (“ERP payments: Give grace period”; Oct 17).
His point was about giving motorists a grace period of a day to make good on their outstanding ERP charges without having to pay an administrative fee, and not about ensuring sufficient value in their CashCards.
The LTA’s justification for the administrative fee, that it is to cover costs from back-end checks and processes, is not satisfactory.
ERP has been in operation for so many years, surely the system would be sophisticated enough to handle such a simple task. It does not seem productive or environmentally friendly to charge $10 to retrieve data, print a notice and mail it.
A grace period for unpaid toll charges is common in many countries. In the United States, for instance, a motorist has 48 hours to make payment by calling a toll-free number and charging the amount to his credit card.
<ins id="aswift_1_expand" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: inline-table; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><ins id="aswift_1_anchor" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: block; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><iframe name="aswift_1" width="336" height="280" id="aswift_1" frameBorder="0" marginWidth="0" marginHeight="0" scrolling="no" vspace="0" hspace="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="left: 0px; top: 0px; position: absolute;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></ins></ins>
In Singapore, we could allow payment via the Internet or mobile devices. When the grace period is over, the administrative fee or a fine can be imposed.
Francis Yeoh (Dr)
* Letter first appeared in ST Forum, 30 Oct.
