Yesterday was the first day of operations for the first five out of 16 new Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantries for the year.

And already, some motorists were resorting to creative ways just to avoid paying the extra charge of between 50 cents and $1.

At the gantry at Toa Payoh Lorong 6 yesterday - from 8am to 9am - my paper saw five motorcyclists push their bikes onto the pedestrian pavement and up a narrow flight of steps leading to Block 212 nearby.

Once at the block's car park, they zipped off, successfully avoiding the gantry.

Despite an announcement by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in January and recent publicity, many motorists at Toa Payoh were taken by surprise at the implementation of the new gantry.

Several motorcyclists stopped by the side of the road to insert CashCards into their in-vehicle units. It's a dangerou move as traffic was heavy.

One alarming biker even left his vehicle unattended by the roadside while he rushed off to a nearby ATM to top up his Cash-Card.

When approached by my paper, most of the motorists who stopped said that they "didn't know" about the new gantry operation.

A newspaper deliveryman who only wanted to be known as Parivallal was one of those who got a nasty surprise.

"I get paid to make deliveries, but for extra charges such as this ERP, I have to pay myself," he said ruefully.

As the last few minutes of the ERP operation ticked by, traffic approaching the gantry slowed to a crawl. Some vehicles, hoping to wait out the last minutes, caused a minor jam. Drivers behind them blared their horns in protest.

Meanwhile, some businesses in the nearby area have been affected by the gantry's operation.

Food stall owners in the wet market at Toa Payoh Lorong 8 told my paper that their business had dropped by an average of 20 per cent yesterday morning.

Drink stall owner Madam Cheng Jee Heng, 68, said that some of her regular customers - parents who used to linger for breakfast after dropping their children off at nearby schools - rushed off before the clock struck eight to avoid the ERP.

She said: "I sold around 20 to 30 cups of drinks less than usual - that's an estimated loss of $20."

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that the first day of the ERP implementation has resulted in increases in travel speeds at each of the gantry locations - Lorong 6 Toa Payoh, Upper Boon Keng Road, Upper Bukit Timah Road, Geylang Baru and Kallang Baru.

Traffic speeds at Lorong 6 increased the most - 25 per cent - followed by Upper Boon Keng Road at 13 per cent and Upper Bukit Timah Road at 12 per cent. Traffic speeds at Geylang Bahru and Kallang Bahru increased by 8 per cent.

Speeds for these roads are now within the optimum range of 21 to 21kmh, said LTA's chief engineer of transportation Dr Chin Kian Keong.

LTA also said that it is an offence for motorists to avoid the gantries by taking unauthorised shortcuts.

It will be deploying enforcement officers at the gantries to monitor the situation.