I USED the East Coast Parkway (ECP) on Monday morning to go to work in the western part of the island.

Unlike other weekday mornings, the expressway was not congested and most cars were travelling above 90kmh.

I crossed the ERP gantry after the Fort Road exit at 8.15am and reached office by 8.40am.

I paid an ERP charge of $2.50, even though there was no traffic congestion on ECP.

The rationale for ERP, as I understand, is to prevent congestion, not to generate revenue.

My suggestion to the Land Transport Authority is: Levy ERP charges based on the overall speed limit on the roads.

For example, if the travelling speed within 2km of the gantry is above 80kmh, then no ERP charges should be levied, because the traffic flow is smooth.

If the travelling speed falls to 70-80kmh, the ERP charge can be 50 cents, and $1 if the speed slows down further to 60-70kmh.

The maximum charge of $2.50 can kick in when travelling speed slows to below 30kmh.

This, in my opinion, is a more reasonable way of levying ERP charges and I believe it will ease congestion dramatically.

The only problem now is how to monitor the travelling speeds during peak hours to ensure the correct ERP fee.

Mr Anthony Verghese