Go-Jek 'hostage' situation: Can you actually drive from Bishan to Coleman Street without paying ERP charges at 7am on a weekday?

The Go-Jek driver picked the passenger up from Block 251 Bishan Street 22 at about 7am on Tuesday and was heading towards Coleman Street.

The passenger wanted to avoid ERP charges. The driver said he didn't know how. The passenger didn't know either, but said she had taken the route "every morning".

She accused the driver of pretending not to know to cheat her.

And thus a viral sensation was born.



But can you actually drive from Bishan to Coleman Street on a weekday morning without paying ERP charges?

People seem to assume that because Coleman Street is in the CBD, you can’t.

I went to gothere.sg to find out and this was what I got:



I posted this route on Twitter and someone pointed out there are ERP gantries on Thomson Road and North Bridge Road on the route:

Thomson Rd have ERP39 ... NorthBridge Rd have ERP11

— pattay (@J0rdan_Dad) February 3, 2019

This is true. The Thomson Road gantry is near the Caldecott MRT station and the North Bridge Road one is near Bugis station.

But according to the One Motoring website, the Thomson Road gantry starts operating only at 7:30am on weekdays and the North Bridge Road one at 8am.

So based on this information, yes, you can.


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