RFID sticker lanes at toll gates to stay even after January 11 —DOTr

Dedicated lanes for the installation of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags at toll plazas will be maintained by tollways operators even after the deadline for motorists to install RFID tags on their vehicles expires, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said Wednesday.

“We have decided to implement a transition period from December 1 to January 11 [2021] and still maintain RFID stickering lanes even after that,” Transportation Assistant Secretary Goddess Libiran told reporters at a virtual press conference.

“Stickering lanes will still be maintained. In fact, lahat ng toll lanes ang commitment ng toll operators may be converted into RFID stickering lanes if necessary,” Libiran said.

The DOTr was asked to comment on Senators Nancy Binay and Grace Poe’s call to extend the January 11, 2021 deadline for motorists to get RFID tags or stickers installed on their vehicles as the government and toll operators move for a 100% cashless payment scheme in toll roads.

On December 1, tollways shifted 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 apprehension of vehicles without RFID tags until January 11, 2021.

“Please note that the primary reason for pushing for the implementation of cashless transactions now is because we want to protect the health and safety of our citizens amid the COVID pandemic,” Libiran said.

“Tungkol sa extension, ang gobyerno naman po ay nagbibigay ng konsiderasyon and that is the reason why on top of the three-month transition period we gave from August to November and the extension granted from November 1 to December 1,” she said.

The Transportation official said the DOTr is calling on toll operators to intensify off-site RFID installations such as in malls, gas stations and other strategic locations “so that people will no longer need to go to the tollgates to have their RFIDs installed.”

Autosweep tags are issued by the San Miguel Corporation (SMC) for the Skyway, South Luzon Expressway (SLEx), STAR Tollway, Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway (TPLEx), Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway (NAIAx), and the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX).

Easytrip, on the other hand, is issued by the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) to be used on the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), Cavite Expressway (CAVITEx), C5 Southlink, and Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX).

For his part, MPTC assistant vice president for Operations Management West Dionisio said the penetration rate for the company’s RFID installation is now at 83%.

Likewise, San Miguel Tollways' Manuel Bonoan, president of Skyway O&M Corp., said that 85% of motorists now use RFID.

As for the heavy traffic experienced at the toll plazas on the first day of implementation of the cashless payment scheme, Toll Regulatory Board Executive Director Abraham Sales said, “That’s what we call birth pains.”

NLEX Corp. senior vice president Romulo Quimbo also said the heavy traffic on December 1 was unusual since many - who still decided to go to the provinces despite the global pandemic - are returning to Metro Manila after a long weekend.

“The usual peak in traffic because of the three-day holiday long weekend also added to the situation kasi nag-implement po tayo ng bagong scheme and there was an expected increase in the volume of traffic because of the long weekend,” Dionisio added.

“Yung number ng mga motoristang dumaan na walang load kahapon, ang estimate namin na sa 35,000. So they were the ones who really caused the queue yesterday kasi kailangan namin sila i-accommodate eh, kailangan namin sila pagbigyan even if they don’t have enough load,” she said.

With this, Libiran urged motorists to load up in advance “para maiwasan ang paghihintay pa ng mga nasa likuran niyo.” -MDM, GMA News