Past attempts to impose cashless tolling, such as at the Balintawak toll plaza on the North Luzon Expressway, led to severe traffic congestion due to system inefficiencies and poor public awareness, further burdening daily commuters, many of whom were low wage workers reliant on these roads.
Cashless toll collection is intended to make travel faster on the roadways, but the promise of modernization is being felt only by the elite sector of society.
Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon suspended the planned cashless toll collection policy which was set to begin on 15 March as the new Department of Transportation chief labeled the system “anti-poor,” arguing that it disadvantages motorists with limited financial flexibility.
Low income road users may struggle to preload their RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) accounts with amounts of P2,000 to P10,000, sums that are not a problem for well-off drivers but are out of reach for many.
Past attempts to impose cashless tolling, such as at the Balintawak toll plaza on the North Luzon Expressway, led to severe traffic congestion due to system inefficiencies and poor public awareness, further burdening daily commuters, many of whom were low-wage workers reliant on these roads.
The Philippine Exporters Confederation similarly called the cashless toll policy “extortionary,” citing its inefficiency and the added costs it imposes on small-scale transport firms.
The “extortionary” label emerges from the punitive fees and the perception that the system profits the toll operators while shifting costs onto vulnerable populations.
Toll authorities often counter that losses from evasion are a small fraction of revenue and efficiency gains benefit all.
The debate hinges on whether these systems prioritize convenience and profit over equitable access.
The suspension of the cashless toll collection policy, announced by Dizon, reflects concerns about its impact on lower income motorists and past implementation issues.
Road experts said that instead of a rigid cashless system, a hybrid scheme that combines cashless RFID-based payment and a cash option is preferable.
The full shift to cashless tolling, thus, is considered “anti-poor” because it assumes all drivers have access to RFID accounts, bank cards, or digital payment methods.
Many low-income commuters, such as taxi drivers and small-scale transport services, rely on cash.
Skyway’s past implementation of mixed lanes for RFID and cash showed that traffic improved when both options were available, as seen during the Stage 3 adjustments in 2021.
Philexport’s objection to cashless tolling highlighted how small operators face added costs, so a policy could include exemptions or lower fees for freight vehicles.
Proposal for interoperability, which San Miguel Corp. claims can only be achieved through a cashless system, can definitely start under a hybrid system.
Traders seek the removal of the existing registration system for motorists who want to apply for an RFID account since they will still be charged with or without registering.
“A hybrid system should not disrupt the RFID lane traffic flow since these are also exclusive to RFID users,” according to a business leader.
“As a matter of fact, operators should even add cash lanes depending on the volume of cars that pass through their tolls daily and this will not cost them much.”
The suspension of cashless tolling should prompt the Toll Regulatory Board to leverage a hybrid policy that would require adopting a system based on feedback from motorists and transport operators.
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