XN000022-1984-11-15 — Page 3

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1984

+THE INTRODUCTION OF CHARGES IN THE MAIN URBAN AREA WOULD AIT TO DISCOURAGE ABOUT 10 PER CENT OF VEHICLES FROM USING BUSY ROADS AT PEAK PERIODS,+ MR SCOTT SAID, POINTING OUT THAT THIS WOULD ENABLE A BETTER FLOW OF ALL TRAFFIC ON THE ROAD, WITH SUBSTANTIAL TRAVEL TIME SAVINGS FOR ALL VEHICLES, AND A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN AIR POLLUTION.

HE ENVISAGED THAT THE SYSTEM WOULD OPERATE ONLY ON WEEKDAYS *.TH NO CHARGING REQUIRED ON WEEKENDS AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS.

+HOWEVER, THE SYSTEM IS FLEXIBLE, AND IF PUBLIC OPINION 1NDICATED THAT SATURDAY MORNINGS OR OTHER PERIODS SHOULD RE INCLUDED, THEN THEY COULD BE,+ HE SAID.

AS FOR THE HOURS OF OPERATION, MR SCOTT SAID THE SYSTEM WOULD OPERATE BROADLY BETWEEN 7 AM AND 7 PM, SO THAT EVENING TRIPS WOULD BE FREE OF CHARGE.

HOWEVER, IN MANY PARTS OF THE URBAN AREA, CHARGES IN THE PERIOD BETWEEN 9 AM AND 5 PM COULD BE LOWER THAN IN THE PEAK ERIOD.

HIGH CAPACITY CARRIERS SUCH AS BUSES, TRAMS AND MINIBUSES WOULD NOT BE CHARGED, SO THAT THE IR PASSENGERS WOULD BENEFIT SIGNIFICANTLY FROM REDUCED JOURNEY TIMES AND FROM FEWER UNCOMFORTABLE START-AND-STOP MOVEMENTS.

REGARDING TAXIS, MR SCOTT SAID THE PRESENT STATE OF RESEARCH INDICATED THAT IT SHOULD NOT BE NECESSARY TO BRING TAXIS WITHIN THE AMBIT OF A FULL SCHEME INITIALLY, AND THAT IF IT WAS LATER PROVED NECESSARY, THE RATE OF CHARGE WOULD BE MUCH LESS THAN THE RATE FOR PRIVATE CARS.

+THE IMPORTANT IMMEDIATE POINT IS THAT TAXIS WOULD BENEFIT FROM BETTER TRAFFIC FLOWS BECAUSE THEY WOULD COMPLETE THE IR JOURNEYS MORE QUICKLY AND GET IN MORE PAYING MILEAGE AS OPPOSED TO WAITING TIME IN TRAFFIC JAMS - A MUCH MORE PRODUCTIVE USE OF TAXIS THAN AS AT PRESENT, HE SAID.

IT WAS NOT INTENDED THAT GOODS VEHICLES SHOULD BE CHARGED, ALTHOUGH IN CERTAIN AREAS THEY CREATED THE VERY CONGESTION FROM, WHICH THEY TOO SUFFERED, HE SAID.

ALTHOUGH IT WOULD ONLY BE POSSIBLE TO BE PRECISE ABOUT THE CHARGES SOME TIME BEFORE THE END OF THE PILOT SCHEME ON ERP. AS A BROAD INDICATION THE RATE OF CHARGE WOULD AVERAGE ABOUT $2 PER KILOMETRE AT PEAK PERIODS, WITHIN THE CHARGEABLE AREA, HE SAID.

REVIEWING THE PRIVATE CAR GROWTH RATE SINCE THE IMPLEMENTATION THE MAY 1982 FISCAL MEASURES WHICH IMPACTED MAINLY ON CAR ERSHIP, HE SAID THE NUMBER HAD FALLEN FROM 190 000 TO 150 000.

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