Coastal Road, STAR to increase toll charges by January 1

MANILA, Philippines — Motorists passing through the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway (Coastal Road) and the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) will have to pay a higher toll starting January 1.   GMA News' Flash Report said 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.   For the STAR, toll charges at 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, and 87 from P71 for Class 3.   From Lipa to Batangas City or 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.   The report quoted Toll Regulatory Board officials as saying that the increase is in line with their regular adjustments, which were last implemented in 2006. - Aie Balagtas See, GMANews.TV