Senators call for improved toll road services before rate hike

NLEx toll gates. Inquirer files

MANILA, Philippines — The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) should compel private operators of the country’s toll roads to resolve various problems affecting motorists before they are allowed to raise fees, two senators said on Monday.

Presiding over a Senate hearing, Sen. Raffy Tulfo recalled how he himself was caught in heavy traffic on the expressways due to the long queues in toll booths and the defective toll collection system.

Tulfo, the new chair of the Senate public services committee, said the problems in the cashless payment schemes of the toll operators had contributed to congestion on expressways and nearby communities.

READ: NLEx toll to rise by June 4

“Don’t implement [toll] increases. I’m serious. Look into my eyes. I’m very dead serious,” Tulfo told TRB officials. “They (toll operators) should be ashamed. Their services are poor, yet they will be implementing increases,” Tulfo said.

Cause of heavy traffic

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian echoed Tulfo’s disappointment, saying the faulty RFID (radio frequency identification) fare collection system on the North Luzon Expressway was not only inconveniencing motorists but also worsening traffic in his hometown, Valenzuela City.

“Because vehicles could not immediately leave the Valenzuela exit, the flow of traffic inside [our city] is affected,” Gatchalian said.

Alvin Carullo, TRB executive director, admitted that toll road operators had “failed” to satisfy the state regulator’s requirement for implementing the contactless payment scheme.