The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) is fast tracking implementation of the toll collection interoperability project for seamless travel between Luzon’s expressways amid the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).
The toll collection interoperability project was launched in 2017 with the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the Department of Transportation (DOTr), TRB, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Land Transportation Office (LTO), and toll road companies operating 13 expressways in Luzon.
Under the agreement, the toll road operators will be tweaking their toll collection systems to make them interoperable and integrated. For motorists using electronic tags, this means they can seamlessly use their electronic tag from one toll road operator to another as they traverse the different toll roads.
Companies party to the interoperability agreement include San Miguel Holdings Corporation, Private Infra Development Corporation, Skyway O&M Corporation, South Luzon Tollways Corporation, Vertex Tollways Development Incorporated, Star Infrastructure Development Corporation, NLEX Corporation, Tollway Management Corporation, Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corporation, Manila Toll Expressway Systems, Inc., Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), Cavitex Infrastructure Corporation, PEA Tollway Corporation, MPCALA Holdings, Inc., Ayala Corporation, and MCX Tollway, Inc.
For phase 1, the Autosweep RFID (radio frequency identification) tags issued for use at the Skyway, South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) Tollway, Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX), Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Expressway (NAIAx), and Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX) will be readable at the Easytrip System used in the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex), C5 Southlink, and Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) using two accounts.
This will allow motorists to seamlessly use their RFID tags issued at the toll plaza of another operator upon completion of registration.
As of May 2020, there are more than 700,000 Autosweep RFID tags qualified for registration, according to TRB reports.
For Phase 2, Easystrip RFID tags used in NLEX, SCTEX, Cavitex, C-5 Southlink, and CALAX, will be readable at the Autosweep System at the Skyway, SLEX, STAR Tollway, TPLEX, NAIAx, and MCX using two accounts.
San Miguel Corp president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said: “We fully support the DOTr and its initiative of unifying toll collection across all expressways. We have been working with them and the other operators and stakeholders on this project for some time. We look forward to providing this convenience to motorists, especially in our situation now, when electronic toll collection is necessary to help ensure the safety of the public and our tollway employees.”
For his part, MPTC president and chief executive officer Rodrigo Franco said the scheme is in line with their promotion of cashless transactions. “The MPTC fully supports the DOTr’s drive for interoperability of toll collections in all the expressways. The scheme complements our program to promote contactless and cashless toll transactions in our own tollway facilities, especially during this time of pandemic. Motorists deserve fast, convenient and hygienic toll services,” he said.
MCX Tollway, Inc. president Noel Eli Kintanar likewise expressed support for the program. “This will bring greater convenience to all expressway patrons, and more importantly, will help the government’s efforts in controlling the spread of COVID-19 through cashless and contactlesss toll payments,” he said.
TRB executive director Abraham Sales enjoined motorists to do their part and take advantage of the existing seamless service the toll interoperability program offers.
“The service has been going on for almost three years now and more people need to be aware that they can make use of it for a faster and hassle-free travel. So, we also encourage our motorists to have their vehicles registered and switch to a more efficient way of using our tollways through RFID tags,” Sales said.
