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NLEX Corp business permit suspended for operator’s failure to offer a plan to deal with heavy traffic on North Luzon Expressway (NLEX)
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Traffic followed launch of the mandatory cashless transaction
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Despite the suspension, motorists can still pass through NLEX interchanges in Valenzuela City without needing to pay the toll fee
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Valenzuela City mayor Rex Gatchalian said the “monstrous traffic jam” caused by technical glitches in NLEX’s collection system taking a toll on the well-being of local citizens
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Suspension stays until the toll operator can submit an action plan and comply with the city government’s demands
The Valenzuela city government has suspended the business permit of NLEX Corp. after the toll operator failed to submit an action plan addressing heavy traffic at the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) interchanges.
The traffic jams within the city were caused by implementation of the mandatory cashless transaction starting December 1.
While NLEX Corp.’s business operation is suspended, motorists can still pass through the NLEX interchanges in Valenzuela city without the need to pay the toll fee.
Valenzuela City mayor Rex Gatchalian on December 7 personally served Executive Order (EO) No. 2020-324 suspending NLEX Corp.’s business permit after the toll operator failed to meet the 5 p.m. deadline to comply with the city’s demand.
Gatchalian earlier wrote to NLEX demanding an action plan on the heavy traffic at NLEX interchanges generated by the mandatory cashless transaction that was implemented at the start of the month.
NLEX responded in a letter dated December 5 but Gatchalian, in a December 7 response letter to NLEX Corp. president and general manager J. Luigi Bautista, said the city government found the toll company’s answer to be “unsatisfactory, wanting, and [it] fell short of concrete action plans, solutions, and fixes.”
Gatchalian also denied NLEX Corp.’s request for a 15-day extension to respond to the concerns raised by the city government.
The Valenzuela City mayor said the “monstrous traffic jam caused by the technical glitches in your RFID [radio frequency identification] system is already taking its toll on the economic, mental, and general well-being of our citizens.”
EO 2020-324 states that based on the report of the city’s Traffic Management Division-Public Order and Safety Group-City External Services Office, Valenzuela City is “suffering from the unusually heavy traffic since the full implementation of cashless transaction” on December 1.
The order said “the abysmal state of NLEX Corporation’s RFID system contributes to the chaos and exacerbates the traffic situation in the city,” which already experiences heavier volume of vehicles on the road what with the holiday rush and the lifting of the truck ban and number coding scheme.
Gatchalian clarified that the suspension is temporary until the toll operator submits an action plan and complies with the city government’s demands.
The use of RFID stickers for cashless transaction starting December 1 on all Luzon expressways was ordered by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) as part of their toll collection interoperability project launched in 2017.
READ: Mandatory cashless toll collection on Luzon expressways starts Dec 1
The program, however, started to cause heavy traffic at toll plazas even prior to December 1 with motorists scrambling to get their RFID stickers before the deadline.
NLEX Corp. senior vice president for communications Junji Quimbo, in a televised interview in the morning of December 7, acknowledged the heavy traffic in Valenzuela City caused by technical glitches in its RFID system, and said they were finding solutions to the problem.
San Miguel Corp. (SMC) president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang earlier requested DOTr to move the implementation of cashless collection to February 2021 to give motorists more time to secure their RFID stickers. SMC also operates expressways in Luzon.
READ: SMC seeks moving cashless toll collection deadline to Feb
SMC said that as of December 1, many motorists have still not secured their RFID stickers as seen from the continuous high volume of applications at installations sites.
DOTr, for its part, said no apprehensions would be made until January 11, and that the tollways may practice leniency toward motorists with no RFID stickers.
