The Area licensing scheme (ALS) was the first road pricing system implemented in the world in 1975. Designed to reduce traffic congestion in the Central Business District (CBD), the key concept underlying the ALS was that a special supplementary licence had to be obtained at a cost if a vehicle wish to enter the CBD’s restricted zone (RZ). The toll charge was in the form of a special area licence costing S$3 per day or S$60 per month. All vehicles were required to purchase and display the special licence in order to enter the RZ. Exceptions were provided for buses, taxis, motorcycles, commercial vehicles, police and military vehicles, ambulances, fire engines and motorcars carrying at least four passengers when entering the RZ. The Chinese newsletter and other collaterals were meant to explain the ALS to the public. This set of artefacts was part of the selection in the time capsule buried in 1990 by then DPM Ong Teng Cheong to celebrate Singapore’s 50th anniversary of independence in 2015.
