Toll road operators call on motorists to shift to RFIDs

Toll road operators have called on motorists to shift to the radio-frequency identification (RFID), to comply with the cashless transactions mandated by the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

According to Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) chief communications officer Romulo Quimbo Jr., its EasyTrip tag will expire next month.

"Ito pong EasyTrip, ito po ay mag-e-expire na sa September 30, bagamat ito po ay electronic din, magswi-switch over po tayo to full RFID, so papalitan po ito ng sticker," he said in a report on GMA's "24 Oras Weekend" on Sunday.

"Habang maaga po, tawagan niyo na po yung EasyTrip dahil may number naman po 'yung mga subscribers namin na magpapalit na sila from the EasyTrip tag to the sticker," he added.

The Easytrip System covers the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), the Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEx), the C5 Southlink, and the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX).

This comes after the DOTr last week ordered all toll road operators to go fully cashless by November 2, 2020, in a bid to arrest the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The development was welcomed by Skyway O&M Corp. (SOMCO), which operates the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) given that tellers have contracted the disease.

"Marami kaming tellers that have been positive kasi because of cash transactions sa toll plazas eh. Umaabot yata kami sa 37 to 40 tellers have already been affected," said SOMCO president Manuel Bonoan.

"'Yung mga cash transactions kasi, minsan doon nakukuha 'yung transfer ng virus eh. Maganda itong panukala ng DOTr to help prevent 'yung spread of the virus," he added.

Toll operators have been fast-tracking the interoperability of their RFIDs, to allow motorists to use both the Autosweep and EasyTrip tags in most expressways across Luzon.

The Autosweep tags are issued by the San Miguel Group for the Skyway, the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx), the STAR Tollway, the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx), the NAIA Expressway (NAIAx), and the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX).

Upon completion of Phase 1 of the Toll Collection Interoperability Project which is currently ongoing, the Autosweep tags will then be readable at the Easytrip System.

Meanwhile, Phase 2 will allow Easytrip RFID tags to be readable at the Autosweep System. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/DVM, GMA News