‘An intelligent tollway’

Media people like to believe what they’re told if they see it with their own eyes. So it was that a group of editors and columnists, including yours truly, took a trip to Bulacan to a see, and experience, the thrill of riding through the new North Luzon Expressway, otherwise called NLE, or NLEX. You bet, we were unanimous in saying that the NLE proves true what its promoters say – that "the road to a better life starts here."

We had about 15 minutes (before it was 30 minutes) seamless travel, over smooth lanes from Balintawak, then exited at Tabang then went on the busy, dusty McArthur Highway going to Baliwag then Malolos. The 15-minute seamless travel is said – and we believe it – to reflect the whole 84-kilometer stretch of NLE from Balintawak up to Sta. Ines, Pampanga which is the end of the road. The 84-km stretch now takes only one hour to traverse, as opposed to two hours, up to December last year when the NLE system became operational.

Just before we turned into the Balintawak tollgate, we made a stop at the Operations and Management Center where we were briefed on NLEX operations by Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC) president and CEO Jose de Jesus, Tony Mabasa, president of Tollways Management Corporation (TMC) and Benjie Suzar, TMC marketing services manager.

From the briefing room we moved to the traffic control room where technicians monitor vehicle movements along the expressway. We could see on computer screens all sorts of vehicles at the toll booths, plying the expressway, or having a breakdown, and the emergency call booths (100 of them on the NLE), from where motorists stop to report such breakdowns. Benjie assured us that motorists in distress are assisted within an average of 20 minutes by a patrol crew.

Then we moved on to the toll supervision booth, where we saw the televised goings on at the toll booths. So everything moving on the lanes are monitored, and hidden cameras click at vehicles going beyond the speed limit.

The expressway officers are quite strict about speed limits, overloading, and vehicles without tail lights. LTO officers come up to the motorists and fine them. I think it was Burpie, or was it Tony? who said that a number of government officials have been caught overspeeding, and they were mad when apprehended at the exit tollgate. But now, generally, apprehended drivers express satisfaction over pictures shown them at the exit gate showing their speed through the photos taken by hidden cameras. "Hey, it’s good they have modern surveillance systems here," is the usual comment.

But there was one Porsche sportscar driver who zoomed above the limit (the speed limit is 100 kph but going beyond that to 120 kph is pardoned). The NLE patrol officer could not stop him at the toll gate as he (the driver) simply whizzed through the gate because he was carrying an E-pass. But we saw the picture of the Porsche and its travel speed registered on the screen.

Benjie told us that from 90 to 100 citations are issued a day. Twenty-five percent of vehicular breakdowns are caused by tire defects (such as recapped tires, deterioration and not having the right pressure.)

Tony said that since February, 160 deaths have been caused by vehicular accidents, some of them due to overspeeding. Some motorists insist that the speed limit should be increased. They pay for the NLE, but why can’t they travel fast? Tony says, "If all vehicles were world class, we can set the speed limit to 160 kph, but how can we when there are old vehicles and jeepneys using the expressway?"

Tollways Management Corporation’s operating themes include driver education. You’ll be surprised, said Benjie, at how many drivers do not know rules and regulations. That’s why the expressway has plenty of road signs and lane markings, a motorists’ handbook, and emphasizes the cooperation of trimedia, and drivers’ seminars.

Jose de Jesus said the tollways serve "as a major growth catalyst for Central and North Luzon. We’d like as many people as possible to see the road. We’re organizing efforts to call attention and highlight little-known tourist destinations aside from Clark and Subic."

He ticked off some benefits provided by the new road. Industries along the countryside are made more accessible; travel to Singapore and Indonesia via Clark becomes attractive, and the travel time from Manila to points in Central Luzon has been drastically cut short. "Before, the poor condition of the expressway took so much time," he said, and added, "This tollway is an intelligent tollway, a caring tollway."

MNTC experienced management crisis upon opening NLE because of its rates - from P42 to P210 for the 84-kilometer stretch. But the intelligence of the tollway – faster travel time, excellent roads, safety measures - is now beginning to be fully understood by motorists.

For over three decades, the expressway was marked by potholes, narrow lanes and consequently, heavy traffic. Remember the long, tedious hours we spent just to be able to get out of the tollgates in Balintawak? Wow, didn’t you just hate that part of the trip back from a nice holiday in Vigan or Baguio? If the new NLE had not been expanded, you could imagine how horrendous the projected 2015 traffic volume would be, with average travel speeds (even at non-peak hours) at 16 kilometers per hour.

Fortunately, someone had to take on the challenge to rebuild the NLE. The Lopez Group ventured into road infrastructure to improve and upgrade the expressway. The government would not have been able to do the job, lacking as it does the resources to finance such a massive development. For example, for 2004, government set aside P864.8 billion for fiscal responsibilities Out of this, only P52.9 billion or roughly 6 percent will go to infrastructure. And of this, only P23.7 billion or 3 percent would go to the construction, paving and improvement of roads, bridges and flyovers.

The Lopez Group – through First Philippine Infrastructure Development Corporation (FPIDC) — partnered with the Philippine Government through the Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC). PNCC’s franchise allows it to enter into joint venture schemes and choose its partners without the need for public bidding.

The joint venture created the Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC), which was mandated to finance, rehabilitate, operate and maintain the NLE for the next 30 years. MNTC also invited partners, including Egis Projects of France, Leighton Asia Limited of Australia, and PNCC. Investments of the partners, through a combination of equity (32 percent) and debt financing (68 percent), amount to P18 billion.

Oscar Lopez, the man at the helm of the Lopez Group, summarizes the great potential of NLE. He is shown in a video presentation saying, "The NLE propels the country to progress and success. The road to success starts with the expressway."

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