Coastal Road, STAR tollways hike toll fees

MANILA, Philippines - Some motorists who spent the holiday break in the Southern Tagalog region may be in for a surprise when they head back to Manila: They will be made to shell out more cash as they pass through the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway (Coastal Road) and the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) tollways. In an interview, Julius Corpus, spokesman of the Toll Regulatory Board, said the Coastal Road management implemented a toll hike starting 12:01 a.m. Thursday, while the STAR tollway hike was implemented at 6 a.m. Corpus said the increase was part of their regular adjustment for the tollways, which was last done in 2006. The adjustments, he added, are implemented every three years. "The adjustments [are] meant to pay off their obligations. It is also for their operations and maintenance costs. Aside from that, the revenues will also be used for future expansions," Corpus said. With the new fares, motorists using light cars or Class 1 vehicles plying Coastal Road will be charged P22, or a P4 increase from the current P18. Toll rates for Class 2 vehicles or light trucks and buses will increase to P43 from P36, while toll charges for Class 3 vehicles or heavy trucks will spike to P65 from P54. At the STAR tollways, payment for Stage 1 (from Santo Tomas ito Lipa City in Batangas) will increase to 29 from P24 for Class 1 vehicles; P58 from P47 for Class 2 vehicles; and 87 from P71 for Class 3 vehicles. From Lipa to Batangas City for STAR tollway's Stage 2, toll rates for Class 1 vehicles will go up to P26 from P20. Rate for Class 2 vehicles will increase to P52 from P40, while toll charges for Class 3 will increase to P77 from P60. Meanwhile, Corpus assured that no toll hike will be implemented in the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx), Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), and the Skyway. - Aie Balagtas See, GMANews.TV