More RFID installation booths needed to avoid traffic jams in expressways — Gatchalian

Additional booths for the installation of radio-frequency identification (RFID) should be set up to spare motorists from grueling traffic jams along expressways, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said on Friday.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and toll operators should address the long lines that were caused by converting regular toll lanes into RFID installation lanes and the reports on defective RFID sensors, according to the senator.

“I see the need for a cashless toll collections system at the expressways especially at this time when we have yet to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). But we cannot just sit back and allow motorists to be stuck in traffic. Time wasted cannot be regained,” he said.

Gatchalian, vice chair of the Senate committee on economic affairs, underscored that time lost in traffic also means economic losses.

Citing a 2017 survey of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the senator said the traffic problem in Metro Manila has cost P3.5 billion in lost opportunities per day and is projected to increase to P5.4 billion daily by 2035 if no interventions are made.

An enhanced information campaign regarding the installation of RFID should also be launched, the senator said, so that confusion will not worsen the traffic situation in tollgates.

"These cashless/contactless transactions are aimed at easing the passage of motorists by sparing them from the heavy traffic especially during rush hours. In the meantime, however, something needs to be done to help the motorists cope in this transition period," he said.

Senator Bong Revilla also lamented the inconvenience being experienced by motorists and commuters who are using expressways.

"Mabuti pa dati kahit may pagbabagal pagdating sa tollway ay umuusad kahit paano, hindi tulad ngayon na talagang aabutin ka ng siyam-siyam bago ka makadaan sa tollway dahil sa hindi nga binabasa ang mga ikinabit nilang RFID sticker kaya ang resulta iniisa-isa pa ng mga nagbabantay," Revilla said in a separate statement after his firsthand experience of the gridlock earlier this week.

On December 1, tollways connecting Metro Manila to different provinces in the north and south Luzon had to shift to a fully-digital cashless system, pursuant to the order of the DOTr in a bid to reduce physical contact amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The DOTr earlier said there would be no apprehensions for vehicles without RFID tags until January 11, 2021 but Senators Grace Poe and Nancy Binay believe the deadline for the transition period should be pushed beyond the said date. — Dona Magsino/RSJ, GMA News