New NLE system assures faster traffic

A more efficient toll system designed to reduce travel time by half the time it used to take in the old expressway will be introduced when the new North Expressway (NLE) becomes operational by December this year.

The new expressway is now 92 percent complete.

The toll system consists of an open system and a closed system referring to major segments of the expressway.

With the open system, motorists stop once and can then take any exit from Balintawak to Marilao. This one-stop-only form of toll collection substantially reduces time spent for toll booth stops and will greatly ease traffic congestion in the concerned urban areas especially during peak hours.

Jose P. De Jesus, president of the Manila North Tollway Corp., which will operate the new expressway, said that the open system is an internationally accepted mode particularly applied to highly urbanized and congested areas. The open system will cover the 14.3-kilometer portion from Balintawak to north of Marilao, where traffic concentration is heaviest.

The closed system, on the other hand, will comprise the northern 70-kilometer section of the expressway, from north of Marilao to Sta. Ines, Pampanga. The closed system is better suited for segments where there is lower traffic.

In the open system, a flat fee of approximately P42 is paid upon entry at the Balintawak toll plaza or any of the intermediate exits when motorists are northbound, and at the Bocaue toll plaza or any of the intermediate exits when motorists are southbound.

Beyond north of Marilao, the closed system will be implemented with motorists paying a toll fee corresponding to the distance per kilometer traveled – at his chosen exit point. The toll fee will be computed at approximately P2.49 per kilometer.

De Jesus said the Balintawak to Bacaue portion provides the most amenities and convenience to motorists, including an eight-lane road capacity (four lanes each direction) or double the current four-lane road capacity (two lanes in each direction). This was done to reduce the number of vehicles in every lane per hour per direction of 2,000 to 1,000, effectively easing up the traffic situation.

According to 2003 figures from the Philippine Construction Corp. (PNCC), more than 44,200 vehicles entered and exited within the 14-kilometer stretch or 27 percent of the 163,752 vehicles which passed through the NLE.

Only seven percent of all motorists actually take the entire 84-kilometer trip daily and will pay approximately P200 one way on toll fees.