Smile, candid camera soon at toll booths

After being repeatedly postponed, the mandated installation of the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in all vehicles to allow passing through the country’s tollways will definitely be implemented not later than October this year. The full implementation of the RFID is one of the short-term measures agreed upon during the traffic summit convened earlier this month by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

The RFID refers to a technology that uses small chips to store and transmit information wirelessly for tracking and identification purposes. Electronic barriers automatically lift to vehicles with RFID that are pre-paid.

Motorists who do not have RFID installed at their vehicles but pay in cash are among the identified causes of chokepoints in toll booths and ensuing traffic jams along the roads connected to the Skyway, the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), among them. Seen as adding to the long queues at the toll booths is the tollway operators using different electronic toll collection (ETC) systems.

Metro Pacific Tollways (MPTC) president and chief executive officer Rogelio “Babes” Singson announced they are ready to fully enforce the RFID requirement. In fact, Singson disclosed in our Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum last Wednesday that the respective representatives of the MPTC and the San Miguel Corporation (SMC) met earlier this week to review the refinements of the “one electronic wallet,” or e-wallet once the mandated use of RFID takes effect.

Singson admitted the MPTC and the SMC are still discussing how to implement what he termed as “suklian,” or roughly translated, to pay loose change. This is how to go about the transfer of payments between the two tollway concessionaires, he explained.

The MPTC has its own EasyTrip System used by motorists to enable passage to the NLEX; Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX); Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX); Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX); the NLEX Connector with Skyway; and the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway. On the other hand, the SMC uses its own Autosweep to enable motorists to pass through the Skyway; SLEX; the STAR Tollway and NAIA Expressway.

Available data showed that as of September 2023, the average daily traffic along NLEX reached 321,384 vehicle entries. In the case of SCTEX average vehicle entries reached 77,878.

The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), one of the attached agencies of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), last set the deadline for RFID installation this coming July. This latest postponement was to enable the “full cashless toll transactions” on all tollways. This would allow “interoperability” of toll payments to enable motorists to use a single RFID card across all expressways/tollways.

The toll collection interoperability project was launched in 2017 with the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the DOTr; Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH); Land Transportation Office (LTO); TRB, SMC Group, Metro Pacific Group and the Ayala Group.

Singson, however, called upon the government to come up with clear enforcement rules on what specific violations could be charged to motorists who still insist to use the tollways without any RFID. Singson, who once was a Cabinet official before going back to the private sector, underscored enforcement rules must come with the full implementation of RFID.

Singson previously served as the DPWH Secretary during the administration of the late president Benigno Simeon “PNoy” Aquino III. “Perhaps, an Executive Order, or a Department Order could suffice,” Singson suggested to Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Romando Artes who was also one of our guests at the same weekly news forum.

A lawyer by profession, Artes agreed to the need “to synchronize” traffic rules and regulations, especially at the level of the local government units (LGUs) where many of those local roads are connected to the tollways. In the specific case of the national capital region, Artes noted, there are 3.6 million cars traversing daily in and around Metro Manila road arteries and highways like EDSA.

We recalled our own experience when we were charged with “obstruction of traffic” at C-5 exit in Quezon City. It was then operated by the state-owned Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNCC) that used the old EasyTag reader. Our car had no EasyTag yet when we drove to one booth that had no queue instead of going to the booth for “cash payments” only. The PNCC traffic enforcer, as LTO deputized officers, stopped us and confiscated our driver’s license for that offense.

Methinks though it was too heavy a penalty for such simple infraction when there was no really obstruction of traffic. Thus, Singson rightly pointed out the need to clarify first the most applicable traffic rules and regulations. Despite the convenience of modern technology now available, Singson could not understand why motorists still refuse to get RFID that is installed for “free” by the tollway operators.

Singson announced the tollway operators led by the MPTC are coming up with come-ons to convince motor vehicles owners to apply for RFID. One of their campaign, according to him, include the privilege of getting parking space in the city of Makati or at the Bonifacio Global City if they have RFID. Another, he added, is accumulation of “reward points” in their RFID cards that can be redeemed as reload for their toll payment.

As a better news, Singson announced that MPTC will soon remove the barriers at their tollway booths with the installation of more modern “gantry” toll system. A “gantry” is structural frame mounted overhead along tolled roadways and/or ramps supporting electronic toll collection systems.

This has long been in the pipelines of MPTC investment plans on tollway improvements.

Singson expressed confidence that this “gantry” tolls would soon be installed, at the latest by next year. The “gantry” tolls are similar to those used in the United States as well as in the United Kingdom and other European countries. Using such “sophisticated” technology, Singson explained, the “gantry” will enable free flow of traffic passing through the toll booths.

Equipped with overhead cameras, the “gantry” catches all the details of the vehicles, including its drivers and passengers, Singson warned with naughty wink: “So beware, if you are driving with someone else.”

As one title of a popular American TV program: “Smile, you’re on candid camera.”