[top: An ERP clock, priced at $20, can be bought at the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) office in Hampshire.]

By Estelle Low

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. So, since Singapore's Electronic Road Pricing scheme, or ERP, is a target of jibes, why not an 'ERP' clock?

Or an 'ERP' mug?

ERP, introduced 10 years ago, is meant to keep Singapore's road traffic flow smooth. Motorists pay a fee when they drive through electronic gantries at busy roads.

Among spoofs about the scheme was one, posted on the Internet last year, which showed an ERP gantry over Pedra Branca island.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has come up with a miniature clock shaped to look like an ERP gantry.

About 100 sets, priced at $20 each, have been sold at the Land Transport Gallery - sited within LTA's offices in Hampshire Road - since a series of ERP gift items was launched there last Monday.

Two other items on sale are a mug, whose 'ERP gantry' lights up when a hot beverage is poured in, and a coaster set depicting ERP as one of the 'famous arches from around the world'. Both items sell for $10 each.

ERP was introduced in September 1998 to replace the Area Licensing Scheme.

Now iconic, it has become the butt of political cartoons and satire around the world.

An LTA spokesman said: 'The light-hearted and tongue-in-cheek approach is by no means meant to trivialise the various concerns surrounding ERP but to help us all enjoy the humour.'

Despite the encouraging sales at its gallery, LTA has no plans to sell these souvenirs elsewhere.

Net proceeds from the sale will go towards the LTA Cares Fund, which supports selected charities that cater to the transport needs of the disabled.

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