ERP 2 transition: Over 26,000 foreign vehicles have opted to install OBU ahead of Jan 1 switchover

Fast food restaurant branch manager Muhammad Shamsul Naim (right) is among the 26,000 to install an OBU on his Malaysian-registered motorcycle.

ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG

Published Nov 05, 2026, 05:00 PM

Updated Nov 05, 2026, 05:00 PM

More than 26,000 foreign-registered vehicles have installed OBUs before Singapore’s ERP 2 switch on Jan 1, showing growing urgency among cross-border commuters.

Foreign vehicles do not have to fit an OBU, but without one they will pay a $3 daily ERP fee from Jan 1, 2027, plus a higher $7 VEP charge.

Singapore is preparing for ERP 2 with new road signs and markings, while 12,000 Singapore-registered vehicles still have not installed the OBU.

SINGAPORE - On his day off in October, 32-year-old Malaysian Muhammad Shamsul Naim rode his motorcycle from Johor Bahru to a workshop in Ang Mo Kio to install an on-board unit (OBU).

His motorcycle was among the 26,000 foreign-registered vehicles to have been installed with an OBU as at October .

This is nearly double the 14,000 such vehicles from mid-September, suggesting that those who need to commute to Singapore are feeling the urgency to have OBUs fitted before the Jan 1 transition to the next-generation road pricing system, or ERP 2.

Foreign-registered vehicles have been able to install OBUs at 121 authorised workshops across Singapore since April 1. But unlike Singapore-registered vehicles, the OBU is not mandatory for them .

Workshops charge upwards of $262.25 to install OBUs for foreign-registered motorcycles, and at least $420.30 for cars and commercial vehicles, depending on the complexity of the work. It costs Singapore-registered vehicles $35 and $70 respectively, if they missed their free installation deadline .

Alternatively, motorists can pay a daily flat ERP fee of $3 on operational days from Jan 1, 2027. ERP is active only on weekdays – apart from public holidays – meaning that foreign motorcyclists who ride to Singapore daily will break even on the installation cost in slightly over four months , before considering the road toll charges they will incur .

Installing an OBU makes even more sense after factoring motorcycle vehicle entry permit (VEP) fee hike from $3 to $7 a day. Without an OBU, a daily rider will pay $10 just to enter Singapore and ride on an ERP-operational day.

However, the number of foreign-registered vehicles that have had OBUs installed is a fraction of the total number of such vehicles entering Singapore daily. In a written reply to a parliamentary question in October 2025, then Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said there were about 77,000 such vehicles entering Singapore daily in 2024, of which 82% were motorcycles.

Naim, a fast food restaurant branch manager, said that while his employer is subsidising part of the VEP hike, some of his colleagues are concerned about the rising cost of working in Singapore . He lives in Johor Bahru to be with his family and because of the higher living costs here.

Another Malaysian who commutes to Singapore for work is 58-year-old Boon. The painter from Kedah, who goes by a single name, said that besides trying to avoid the year-end deadline rush, he installed an OBU in October for the convenience . This includes being able to settle missed road toll payments and entering carparks without having to tap his stored value card.

Demand at authorised installation centres has been on the rise. Tan Wee Yang, owner of My Car Workshop in Ang Mo Kio, said monthly installations for foreign vehicles have surged from roughly 30 in July to over 100 in the first two weeks of October alone.

Michael Toh, a mechanic at the workshop, said OBU installation on Malaysian vehicles is generally no different from Singapore vehicles, although some cars have window tinting which impedes the hardware from working properly.

Even as the majority of the nearly 1 million applicable vehicles in Singapore have installed OBUs, a group of local owners remain reluctant.

In a written parliamentary response on Nov 4, Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said that about 12,000 Singapore-registered vehicles mandated to install the OBU have yet to do so, with cars and motorcycles making up 90% of that group.

Along with the OBU installation, Singapore’s roads are slated to be changed with the transition to ERP 2. Road markings and signs are being rolled out progressively. The 95 existing ERP gantries will also be removed or modified from January 2027 under a $6 million contract.

Lee Nian Tjoe is senior transport correspondent at The Straits Times, where he also oversees the Motoring section.

快餐店分店经理 Muhammad Shamsul Naim（右）是 26,000 名在马来西亚注册的摩托车上安装 OBU 的用户之一。

《海峡时报》摄影：郭志雄

发布于2026年11月5日下午5:00

更新于2026年11月5日下午5:00

在新加坡 ERP 2 于 1 月 1 日切换之前，已有超过 26,000 辆外国注册车辆安装了车载单元 (OBU)，这表明跨境通勤者对此越来越迫切。

外国车辆无需安装 OBU，但如果没有 OBU，则从 2027 年 1 月 1 日起，每天需支付 3 美元的 ERP 费用，外加更高的 7 美元 VEP 费用。

新加坡正在为 ERP 2 做准备，包括新的道路标志和标线，但 12,000 辆在新加坡注册的车辆仍未安装 OBU。

新加坡——10 月份的一天，32 岁的马来西亚人穆罕默德·沙姆斯·纳伊姆 (Muhammad Shamsul Naim) 在休息日骑着摩托车从新山前往宏茂桥的一家修理厂，安装车载单元 (OBU)。

截至 10 月，他的摩托车是 26,000 辆安装了车载单元 (OBU) 的外国注册车辆之一。

这几乎是 9 月中旬此类车辆 14,000 辆的两倍，这表明那些需要通勤到新加坡的人感到迫切需要在 1 月 1 日过渡到下一代道路收费系统（ERP 2）之前安装车载单元 (OBU)。

自 4 月 1 日起，外国注册车辆可以在新加坡 121 家授权维修厂安装车载单元 (OBU)。但与新加坡注册车辆不同，对于外国注册车辆而言，安装车载单元并非强制性要求。

维修店为外国注册的摩托车安装车载单元（OBU）收费至少262.25美元，为轿车和商用车安装则至少420.30美元，具体费用取决于安装的复杂程度。如果错过了免费安装期限，新加坡注册的车辆则分别需要支付35美元和70美元。

或者，从 2027 年 1 月 1 日起，驾车者可以在运营日支付每天 3 美元的固定 ERP 费用。ERP 仅在工作日（公共假期除外）生效，这意味着每天骑摩托车前往新加坡的外国摩托车手只需四个多月即可收回安装成本，而无需考虑他们将产生的道路通行费。

考虑到摩托车入境许可证（VEP）费用从每天3美元上涨至7美元，安装车载单元（OBU）就显得更加合理了。如果没有OBU，骑手每天仅进入新加坡并在ERP运营日骑行就需要支付10美元。

然而，已安装车载单元（OBU）的外国注册车辆数量仅占每日进入新加坡的此类车辆总数的一小部分。2025年10月，时任交通部代理部长萧敬腾在书面答复议会质询时表示，2024年每日约有77,000辆此类车辆进入新加坡，其中82%为摩托车。

快餐店分店经理奈姆表示，虽然他的雇主会补贴一部分自愿就业计划（VEP）的涨价部分，但他的一些同事仍然担心在新加坡工作的成本不断上涨。他住在新山是为了和家人团聚，也是因为新加坡的生活成本更高。

另一位往返新加坡工作的马来西亚人是58岁的布恩（Boon）。这位来自吉打州的油漆工（他只有这一个名字）表示，除了想避开年底的截止日期之外，他还在10月份安装了车载单元（OBU），以方便出行。这样一来，他就可以支付错过的道路通行费，并且无需刷卡即可进入停车场。

授权安装中心的需求持续增长。位于宏茂桥的“我的汽车修理厂”（My Car Workshop）老板陈伟扬表示，外资车辆的月度安装量已从7月份的约30辆激增至10月份前两周的100多辆。

该维修厂的技工 Michael Toh 表示，马来西亚车辆的 OBU 安装通常与新加坡车辆没有区别，尽管有些车辆的窗户贴有膜，这会妨碍硬件正常工作。

尽管新加坡近 100 万辆适用车辆中的大多数都已安装了车载单元 (OBU)，但仍有一部分本地车主不愿安装。

11月4日，交通部长萧正树在一份书面议会答复中表示，约有12000辆新加坡注册车辆被强制要求安装车载单元（OBU），但尚未安装，其中汽车和摩托车占90%。

随着车载单元（OBU）的安装，新加坡的道路也将随着ERP 2系统的过渡而进行改造。道路标线和标志正在逐步部署。根据一项价值600万美元的合同，现有的95个ERP龙门架也将从2027年1月起被拆除或改造。

李念祖是《海峡时报》的高级交通记者，同时负责汽车版块。