In And Out Of The Immigration (2)

Your Face Could Soon Be Your Passport At Singapore's Checkpoints
by Monica Kotwani

SINGAPORE - Instead of being screened by immigration personnel, travellers at Singapore's checkpoints could be cleared in future by a facial recognition biometric system - which will allow entry into the country at record time.

Called the Flexi Immigration Clearance System, the project is the first of its kind in Singapore and will allow the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to toggle between automated and manned immigration counters.

It will particularly benefit checkpoints that experience a high traffic, and the ICA plans to implement the technology at the coming International Cruise Terminal.

This is one of a number of infocomm projects the public sector is embarking on and the Government gave a preview yesterday of an estimated S$1.1 billion worth of tenders it will award to the industry this year.

The ultimate aim is to make infocomm technology a part of Singaporeans' everyday life - at home, at work and during travel.

For instance, centralised remote building technology will be called for to monitor the lighting, lifts and water pumps in public housing blocks.

Meanwhile, the Singapore Police Force plans to acquire systems to enhance road-safety enforcement such as a Digital Traffic Red-Light System and Digital Speed Enforcement Camera System.

The Home Affairs Ministry, Housing & Development Board and National Environment Agency (NEA) were just some of the agencies that presented their coming projects at the industry briefing organised by the Infocomm Development Authority.

Several projects look set to improve public engagement.

The NEA's use of real-time sensors in its Smart Environment System, which is estimated to cost between S$3 million and S$10 million, will leverage on crowd sourcing technologies so the public can submit environmental information, such as the weather, at their location. The NEA hopes to react and deal with environmental challenges as they occur.

The Ministry of Defence, it wants to offer better healthcare services to Mindef and Singapore Armed Forces personnel by streamlining business processes and integrating military healthcare records with national healthcare systems.

IDA chief executive Ronnie Tay said the overall outlook for the infocomm industry remains positive, with increased spending in IT and demand for infocomm services.

"The Singapore Government continues to invest in infocomm to drive productivity and innovation within the public sector," he said.

"This is a strong testament to the Government's commitment to continually improve the delivery of services and information to citizens and businesses, and the important role of infocomm in fostering economic growth in Singapore."

Last year, the Government awarded 647 infocomm contracts worth more than S$1.12 billion, excluding a one-off S$850 million invested in the Schools Standard ICT Operating Environment programme. Two-thirds of the contracts went to local companies.

Source: Today Online - Friday, May 20, 2011

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Driving Into & Out Of Singapore 
Providing you a comfortable and convenient ride in free-flowing traffic

Overview

Before you decide to drive into and out of Singapore, there are a few basic things you need to know, depending on whether your vehicle is a foreign-registered one or registered in Singapore.

Foreign-registered vehicles

If you drive a foreign-registered vehicle, you have to acquire an Autopass Card (a vehicle entry permit) at either Woodlands or Tuas Checkpoint arrival zones before entering Singapore. It is an offence to drive into Singapore without an Autopass Card (a vehicle entry permit) for your foreign-registered vehicle.
For a foreign-registered commercial vehicle (like bus, taxi or goods vehicle), you only need to pay tolls using the Autopass Card, in addition to the relevant permit required for entry to Singapore.
Singapore-registered vehicles
If you drive a Singapore-registered vehicle, you have to pay tolls using the CashCard. Please note that using an Autopass Card that belongs to a foreign-registered vehicle is not allowed.
Only NETS CashCards (for local vehicles) and Autopass cards (for foreign vehicles) are currently accepted for payment at Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints. 

Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents, Student Pass Holders & Residents of Singapore 
Singapore citizens, permanent residents (regardless of their place of residence), student pass holders, long term social visit pass holder and residents of Singapore are NOT allowed to use or keep any foreign-registered vehicles in Singapore.

WORK PASSES

Any work pass holder, who is neither a Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) nor a resident of Singapore, may drive a foreign-registered car and motorcycle in Singapore only if ALL these conditions are met:

a)	he is the registered owner of the vehicle ;
b)	he resides outside Singapore;
c)	the vehicle is kept or used outside Singapore for a total period of 6 hours or more everyday ;
d)	he has a valid insurance certificate and road tax for the use of the vehicle on Singapore roads ; and
e)	the vehicle has an Autopass Card to validate its entry/exit at Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints and for payment of Vehicle Entry Permit/Toll charges.

Please note that a work pass holder who is also a SPR or resident of Singapore is not allowed to drive a foreign-registered vehicle in Singapore.

Visitors to Singapore 
Visitors driving into Singapore in foreign-registered vehicles must use the Autopass Card to make payment for their VEP fees and/or toll charges and/or ERP charges at either Tuas or Woodlands Checkpoint.

VEP fees are calculated on a daily basis. However, there is no VEP fee charged for Saturdays, Sundays and all Singapore Public Holidays.

Ten VEP-free days

From 1 June 2005, all drivers of foreign registered cars and motorcycles can drive into Singapore for a maximum of 10 days in each calendar year without having to pay VEP fees.

After the 10 VEP free days have been utilized, VEP fees for subsequent days are chargeable if you continue to use or drive your foreign-registered car or motorcycle during VEP operating hours.

Please note that toll charges still apply. Toll charges are calculated on a per trip basis. You have to pay toll charges on arrival and departure at Tuas Checkpoint but only on departure at Woodlands Checkpoint.

Fixed ERP Fee

For drivers of foreign-registered cars with no In-vehicle Unit (IU) in the car currently, you can choose not to install an IU. You can pay a fixed Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) fee if you use ERP-priced roads during ERP operating hours , if you do not have an IU in your car. Pls click here for more information on fixed ERP fee.

Here's a snapshot of some of the things you have to remember, depending on the type of vehicle you drive to enter Singapore:

Foreign-registered cars and motorcycles	Foreign-registered buses, taxis and goods vehicles	Singapore-registered vehicles
Use Autopass Card	Use Autopass Card	Use CashCard
Please note that tolls are charged on both arrival and departure at Tuas Checkpoint and on departure only at Woodlands Checkpoint. Pay entry tolls, where applicable, exit tolls, VEP fees, and/or ERP charges (if applicable) upon departure at both Tuas and Woodlands checkpoints.	Pay tolls where applicable on arrival and departure at Tuas Checkpoint and only on departure at Woodlands Checkpoint. Please obtain the relevant permits before entering Singapore.	Pay tolls on arrival and departure at Tuas Checkpoint and only on departure at Woodlands Checkpoint.

Last Updated on 15/03/2011

Source: http://www.lta.gov.sg/motoring_matters/motoring_guide_overview.htm