‘Express’ exits for holiday rush

North Luzon Expressway. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/RICHARD REYES

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—They are not dressed as angels, shepherds or Santa’s helpers but ambulant tellers receiving toll fees on the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) offer the same goodwill to motorists during the Christmas and New Year rushes.

Toll officials fielded these tellers for the holidays to speed up payments in the toll plazas of the NLEx and SCTEx and ease heavy traffic there, said Francisco Dagohoy, media relations specialist of the Tollways Management Corp. that operates the two expressways.

To make toll transactions faster, ambulant tellers would take payments and issue electronic cards that motorists hand out later to regular tellers at the toll booths, Dagohoy said.

All booth employees need to do is swipe the cards through the magnetic reader, giving the motorists faster entry or exit on booths, he said.

The NLEx connects Metro Manila to northern and Central Luzon. The SCTEx links the western and eastern areas of Central Luzon.

Studying the data of previous years, toll officials expect the vehicle volume on NLEx to increase by 20 percent starting Dec. 21, which should build up today (Saturday, Dec. 22) and Sunday (Dec. 23), Dagohoy said.