Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
(ERP) in 1998 launched the adoption of new technologies with the commitment,
for each car entering Singapore, to own a system allowing the identification at one
of the 69 checkpoints and entries of the city.
The ERP is an electronic toll system and to enter the city and in the Restricted
Zone, with differentiated fares according to the type of vehicle, the times of the
day, the area and the type of road.
The boundaries of these toll areas can be easily identified through blue struc-
tures on top of the roads. Lighting signals indicate when the ERP is active. Large
posters close to the structures indicate the fares. In each vehicle, on the anterior
part, there is an electronic system called In-Vehicle-Unit or IU. When the vehicle
enters the Restricted Zone, a Cash Card, already inserted in the electronic system
will signal the fare that will be automatically charged to the card.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the National Research
Foundation of Singapore have announced a joint project for the development of
new models and tools for planning and operation of the future urban transportation
system, such initiative started in 2010. The project is centred on the development
of the SimMobility, a simulation platform o fan integrated model of human
activities, business, use of the soil, transportation, environmental impact and
Energy consumption.
The project researchers are planning to use this platform to design and evaluate
new mobility solutions in urban contexts in the city of Singapore.
A project of the joint venture Renault-Nissan is that to take the largest role in
the world production of zero emission electric vehicles. The Alliance has formed a
partnership with the Energy Market Authority (EMA), the Land Transport
Authority (LTA) and the Economic Development Board (EDB) of Singapore to
explore the development of Zero Emission Vehicles Program.
The city of Singapore is besides quite adequate for Electric Vehicles mobility
due to the limited size of each vehicle, the urban context supplied with a wide-
spread electric power network and the existing technological infrastructures for
data transfer. The strategic importance of Asian cities, the land's geography and its
commitment in environmental subjects allow a large development of the electric
vehicles market on a large scale.
The experiences related to the cities built ex novo through a top down approach
are also very interesting since they are a real world test system of the most varied
technological solutions with some excess typical of frontier research applications.
These experiences go from Masdar
6
city, see Fig.
2.1
, to other entirely new
districts (Caofedian New District). Masdar city (from Arab: Mad¯nat Madar lit-
erally means source city) is a city planned at Abu Dhabi in the Arab Emirates.
Projected by the English designer Norman Foster the city will count exclusively on
solar energy, with a zero emissions economy and a zero waste society. The
company
Abu
Dhabi
Future
Energy
Company
(ADFEC)
led
by
the
sheik
Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan manages the initiative.
6
