TRB: Tollways 100% cashless ready by Dec. 1

The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) on Wednesday said the government as well as expressways operators are prepared to shift to full cashless toll collection scheme transactions in all toll plazas next month.

“We are 100% ready to implement cashless transactions. Naka-ready na po ang ating toll plazas... almost 800 toll lanes na po ang nakaready na,” TRB Executive Director Abraham Sales told reporters in a virtual press conference.

“More than 3.2 million [vehicles] na po ang may stickers ng RFID (radio frequency identification). The capacity to install is 30,000 a day... We see na ready to go po tayo for cashless payment by December 1. We want this to be efficient para maiwasan ang pag-spread ng COVID-19,” Sales said.

The cashless toll collection scheme is pursuant to the Department Order No. (DO) 2020-012, which which aims to help curb the spread of COVID-19 through the reduction of human-to-human interactions in payment schemes.

Transition period

For her part, Transportation Assistant Secretary Goddess Libiran clarified that the December 1 deadline for 100% cashless payment scheme is only for toll road operators and not for motorists to install RFID stickers.

Libiran said there will be a “transition period” from December 1, 2020 until January 11, 2021.

“Ang deadline po sa December 1 ay para sa operators, hindi po ito ultimatum para magkabit ng stickers ang mga motorista. Wala pong mangyayaring hulihan mula December 1 to January 11, [2021]. Maaari lang po silang bigyan ng ticket kung pipila sila sa maling lane,” she said.

The Department of Transportation has earlier said that there will be no apprehensions for vehicles without the RFID tags until January 11.

The DOTr said that RFID installation at toll lanes and booths will remain on a 24/7 basis until January 11 even as tollways shift to a fully-digital cashless system by December.

"Matapos ang January 11, hindi na lahat ng lanes sa toll gate ay iko-convert bilang stickering lane. Magtatalaga na lamang ng isa o dalawang stickering lane, o kaya naman isang installation tent bago pumasok sa toll gate kung saan maaaring kabitan ng RFID ang mga sasakyan," it added.

Both the Autosweep and the Easytrip systems — which cater to the expressways connected to Metro Manila — are set to go fully contactless by December 1.

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).

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).

Under the first phase of the government's Toll Collection Interoperability Project, Autosweep tags will be readable at the Easytrip System, while the second phase will allow Easytrip RFID tags to be readable at the Autosweep System.

For his part, Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) senior vice president for Communication and Stakeholder Management Romulo Quimbo said the company has so far installed 1.5 million RFID stickers and that it only needs to install 250,000 more vehicles to meet 100%.

MPTC is the holding company of NLEX, SCTEX, CALAXX, and CAVITEX.

“For motorists who don’t have the time, we will continue to install RFID stickers on a walk-in basis... We will continue to install stickers beyond the December deadline,” Quimbo said.

Manuel Bonoan, president of the Skyway O&M Corp., said the company has so far installed 1.7 million RFID stickers. Bonoan said cashless penetration grew 77% from 47% pre-COVID-19 level.

“Makakaasa kayo na whenever you want to use our tollways, may mga tao po kami who can assist you for stickering and loading,” Bonoan said.—AOL, GMA News