MANILA, Philippines — Motorists are urged to support the upcoming contactless toll dry run by applying for Radio Frequency Identification stickers (RFID) ahead of its implementation, according to Toll Regulatory Board Spokesperson Julius Corpuz.
“We strongly encourage naman po ang mga motorista na kung pwede, suportahan naman po ang ating efforts na mag-switch na sila sa RFID from cash kasi mas mabilis po at mas convenient ang mag-entry at exit sa ating mga toll plaza using the RFID sticker mode and electronic toll collection natin which we call contactless or cashless,” the spokesperson said on Laging Handa Public Briefing.
(We strongly encourage our motorists, if they can, to support our efforts to switch to RFIDs from cash payments because it will enable a faster and more convenient entry and exit at our toll plazas using the RFID sticker mode and electronic toll collection, which we call contactless or cashless.)
The two-month dry run, which is slated to begin on September 1, 2023, aims to test the reimplementation of the contactless and cashless program, which would serve to hasten toll booth collections and further minimize traffic congestion in expressways.
The adoption of contactless and cashless toll collections was originally planned back in 2020 but was subsequently postponed after systems were found to be faulty.
Corpuz also stated that they will not force motorists to apply for RFIDs but will still continuously encourage them to do so as the country begins to fully adopt the contactless toll collection system.
“’Yan na po ang magiging takbo ng toll collection system sa mga darating na panahon, ay ang tinatawag na ‘digital highway’ and that is where we are going. Lahat po sa buong mundo, ‘yan naman ang tinatahak ngayon na pamamaraan, through digital technology,” he added.
(That is how our toll collection system will run in the coming years by what we call “digital highways,” and that is where we are going. Everywhere else in the world, that is the process that they are also taking, through digital technology.)
Defective RFIDs
When asked about their plans to address the existence of defective RFIDs, Corpuz stated that there could be multiple reasons why stickers are unable to be read.
“Yan pong mga sinasabing mga ‘di nababasang RFIDs, because marami po kasing kadahilanan yan. Yung iba po, sira na yung RFID kaya hinihikayat natin silang ipa-check ang mga RFID sticker nila upang mapalitan. So may replacement program po tayo at up to now, ongoing yung replacement program naginagawa ng mga toll operators niyan. Yung iba naman po, dahil may mga problems sa readers or mga iba-iba pangkadahilanan,” Corpuz explained.
(What they say that are unreadable RFIDs, it’s because there are multiple causes. For some, their RFIDs are damaged so we are encouraging them to have their RFID stickers checked so that they may be replaced. We have a replacement program and up to now, the replacement program being done by our toll operators is ongoing. For others, on the other hand, it’s because there are problems with the readers and other reasons as well.)
The spokesperson also clarified that the replacement of defective RFID stickers will be free, given that its damage is found not to be intentionally inflicted by the motorist.
— Juan Miguel Talens, INQUIRER.net trainee
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