The CashCard that serves as the centerpiece of Singapore's Electronic Road Pricing System, the first of its kind, now combines the features of a Contactless Fare Card with those of an electronic purse.
In September of 1998, the ERP--which is now in a test phase on one of Singapore's main highways--is being extended to two other main roads and the downtown restricted zone, site of the world's longest-running congestion pricing system originally installed in 1975. More than half of the island state's 686,000 cars have already been equipped with the in-vehicle unit that cradles the contactless CashCard; some 600,000 cards have been issued; and terminals that accept CashCard payments have been installed in more than 5,000 retail stores.
The decrementing card issued by seven local shareholder banks can be "topped up" over the phone at home or in the office, using a device no larger than a pocket calculator that taps the user's bank account over a secure phone line.
Besides its toll payment mode, the CashCard is accepted at local stores, telephone booths, vending machines, copying machines, and self-service parking ticket dispensers.
Unlike other electronic tollbooths, the Singapore ERP system can differentiate between a violation and a technical fault. It takes photographs, records all data, checks every car in every lane, and adjusts the price deducted electronically depending on the time of day.
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