Has this ever happened to you? You know you’ve got a free parking ticket, but as you’re exiting the parking lot, your blood runs cold when you realise the fatal mistake you’ve made.
By the time you remembered to remove your CEPAS card from your OBU…
Deet, you’ve just been charged the parking fee, and the free parking ticket goes into the trash.
Fortunately, it seems like this problem would become a thing of the past, as a new feature in ERP 2.0 on-board units (OBU) would allow users to “temporarily disable” their CEPAS cards in such situations.
(Unless you forget to do even that, then tbh we can’t help you anymore.)
New Features in ERP 2.0 OBUs
This is among one of the few new features introduced by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Thursday, 28 March 2024, for the new OBUs, after receiving feedback from early adopters.
The commencement of the initial phase of OBU installation for the new Electronic Road Pricing system, ERP 2.0, took place in November 2023, with company vehicles being the first recipients.
Of the over 13,000 vehicles equipped with OBUs thus far, approximately 75% are company vehicles, including buses and motorcycles.
The subsequent phase of installation is set to begin on 1 May 2024. Starting from this date, all newly registered vehicles will come equipped with OBUs, while existing local motorcycle owners will receive notifications regarding their upcoming installation schedule beginning 1 May.
You can find out more about these new units by watching our video here:
Temporarily Disable CEPAS Cards with Touchscreen Feature
As we all know, a valid CEPAS card – such as a NETS FlashPay card, NETS Motoring Card and EZ-Link Motoring Card – is used to pay for both parking fees and ERP charges.
Some initial users have provided input indicating that certain placements of the processing unit were challenging to access from the driver’s position.
As a result of this placement, drivers with complimentary parking passes may have encountered inconvenience in removing their CEPAS cards from the processing units before leaving car parks.
In order to combat this issue, LTA has announced plans to introduce a button on the touchscreen interface that will temporarily deactivate CEPAS cards for drivers with complimentary parking passes.
Don’t try to use this as an excuse to avoid ERP charges by “forgetting to reactivate” your CEPAS card before driving, however, as LTA has made it very clear that the deactivation feature is exclusive to the above scenario only.
Even if you do not reactivate your card, you will still pay your ERP charges whether you like it or not.
At present, this functionality will solely be accessible for motorists with the touchscreen interface. However, LTA has indicated its intention to expand this feature to supported smartphone applications in the future.
Another feature introduced is the freedom for motorists to designate the placement of the processing unit from various feasible locations within their vehicle.
The installation sites, which differ depending on the vehicle’s make and model, may include areas such as the passenger footwell, under the glove compartment, or beneath the driver’s seat.
Initially, technicians decided on the installation spots, but drivers who already had their processing units installed wished for more involvement in determining the placement.
To facilitate a seamless transition for motorists, LTA will deploy service ambassadors to authorised workshops.
These ambassadors will assist motorists in familiarising themselves with OBU functions and may suggest the NETS automatic top-up feature for those who prefer not to manually top up their CEPAS cards.
Backend payment options by NETS or EZ-Link Motoring Service allow ERP payments without physical cards in OBUs, though not all car parks support this yet. Motorists are also advised to carry a spare card for parking payments.
Additionally, OBU numbers remain the same as current IU numbers, ensuring continuity with season parking information. These measures aim to streamline the transition to OBUs for all motorists.