Motorists using toll roads only occasionally urged to give way to regular users for RFID installation

The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) on Sunday advised motorists using toll roads occasionally to let regular users have their vehicles installed with RFID stickers first to avoid buildup of vehicles at toll plazas.

Interviewed on Dobol B sa News TV, TRB spokesperson Julius Corpus made the statement after some motorists in Taguig City waited in line for up to 10 hours on Saturday to secure RFID stickers.

“'Yung hindi naman po regular users ng ating mga expressway, puwede pa naman nilang ipagpaliban ang pagpapakabit ng RFID sa kanila at huwag munang sumabay dito sa mga talagang gumagamit,” he said.

Corpus noted that the installation of RFID stickers will continue even when the 100% cashless payment scheme is already implemented in expressways, which is set on November 2.

According to him, installation centers will still be available in entry plazas after November 2.

“Kung wala naman po kayong naka-schedule o balak na dumaan sa mga expressway at wala pa kayong RFID, huwag po kayong mag-alala. Hindi naman po hihinto ang ating toll operator,” Corpus said.

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) and San Miguel Corp. (SMC) said they will give more time for the installation of RFIDs after the government extended its deadline for the implementation of 100% cashless payment scheme.

Motorists plying the San Miguel Corp. (SMC)-operated tollways — the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR), South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), the Skyway System, NAIA Expressway, and the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX) — have until the end of November

However, the company said that by November 2, all lanes at its toll plazas will be fully capable and converted to electronic toll collection.

From November 2 to 30, vehicles without RFID will still be allowed to enter the expressways.

However, after November 30, vehicles without RFID stickers will not be allowed to enter the SMC-operated tollways including Skyway, SLEX, NAIAX, STAR Tollways and TPLEX.

For its part, the MPTC said motorists who don’t have RFIDs by November 2 will still be allowed to pass through North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEx), C5 Link, and Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAx).

However, motorists who have not installed RFID stickers will be directed to the RFID installation lanes where they can have their stickers installed.

Likewise, the MPTC said the corresponding toll fee charge for their passage on that particular day will be deducted from the initial load that they paid in getting the RFID stickers. 

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) mandated all toll road operators to go full cashless in its transactions by November 2, 2020, in a bid to arrest the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). —KG, GMA News