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Area Licensing Scheme

The Area Licensing Scheme, otherwise known as the ALS, was first introduced on 2 June 1975, to reduce rush hour traffic congestion in the city area. A total area of  6.1 sq km in the Central Business District was designated the Restricted Zone with the inclusion of Cuppage Road, Koek Road and Marina Centre in the 80s, increasing the total area to 7.2 sq km. Only one other country, namely Norway has copied it, and this only partially, with most nations stating public opposition as the reason for not implementing similar schemes. In the early morning of 1 September 1998, the last of the ALS gantries were taken down and replaced with the Electronic Road Pricing scheme, thus ending the 23 year old ALS scheme.

Key Developments
2 June 1975 : ALS starts with the initial restricted hours from 7:30 am - 10:15 am. Private cars pay $3 daily, $60 monthly. Company cars pay double.
23 June 1975 : Restricted time increased by 45 minutes: 7:30 am - 10:15 am
1 August 1975 : Taxis also pay what private cars pay.
1 January 1976 : Fee for cars raised: Private cars pay $4 daily; company cars, $8.
1 April 1977 : Fee for taxis cut to $2 a day.
1 March 1980 : Fee for cars raised: Private cars $5 daily; company cars, $10 daily.
13 February 1984 : ALS extended to Cuppage Road and Koek Road.
19 November 1986 : ALS extended to Marina Centre.
1 June 1989 : ALS extended to evening rush hours: 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm on weekdays. Every road user pays, except emergency vehicles and public buses. But fees are lowered: Company cars pay $6 a day; others, $3 a day.
1 July 1989 : Motorcycles also pay: $1 a day.
December 1989 : Evening restricted hours shortened to between 4:30 - 6:30 pm.
3 January 1994 : ALS hours stretch all day: 7:30 am - 6:30 pm on weekdays and 7:30 am - 3:00 pm on Saturdays. Peak-hour fees unchanged. At other times: 10:15 am - 4:30 pm on weekdays, 10:15 am - 3:00 pm on Saturdays and eve of public holidays, the fee is: 70 cents for a motorcycle, $4 for a company car and $2 for a car and other vehicles.
May 1995 : ALS ends one hour earlier on Saturdays, at 2 pm.
May 1997 : Morning peak period cut by 45 minutes, to 7:30 pm - 9:30 am on weekdays and Saturdays. Evening peak extended by 30 minutes: 4:30 - 7:00 pm.



Author
Bonny Tan



References 
Sharp, I. (2005). The journey: Singapore`s land transport story (pp. 76-79). Singapore: Published for the Land Transport Authority by SNP Editions

Tiek, L. C. (1998, August 30). Time's up, goodbye. The Straits Times, Review Focus, p. 33.


Further Readings
Gantry life: as Cisco "eyes". (1998, September 1). The Straits Times, Home, p. 24.

Yeo, G. (1998, September 1). Goodbye ALS, hello ERP. The Straits Times, p. 1. 

The information in this article is valid as at 1999 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Commerce and Industry>>Transportation
Urban transportation policy--Singapore
City traffic--Singapore
Transportation and state--Singapore
Law and government>>Safety administration>>Land transportation



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