SCUTTLEBUTT

Skyway to hell

It seems that the tycoon who remains “outside the kulambo” of the Palace — Ramon S. Ang — believes he has pulled off a publicity coup with his offer to solve the flooding problem of Metro Manila “at no cost to the government.”

“I, San Miguel, Ramon Ang, I am volunteering now. I will help solve the flooding in the entire Metro Manila…),” Ang declared in Filipino in a meeting with local and national officials at SMC headquarters.

Ang, however, has a poor track record when it comes to making grand promises.

SMC’s Skyway toll road, billed as the solution to the metro’s traffic problem, has instead contributed to the logjams due to a basic system failure in the radio-frequency identification (RFID) system.

SMC’s Autosweep RFID system for the Skyway and other tollways like the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), NAIA Expressway (NAIAx), STAR Tollway, and Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway (TPLEX) is the leading cause of the long queues at exit gates due to outdated equipment, including frequent breakdowns.

Motorists consider the Autosweep RFID system archaic compared to toll collection systems in neighboring countries like Thailand, which are noted for their simplicity and efficiency.

While the systems in other nations raise the barriers as a vehicle approaches the gate, the Autosweep is cumbersome, causing a long line to form at the gates.

The system’s implementation, including hardware reliability and software integration, has been flagged as less advanced than modern alternatives like multi-lane free-flow systems or those with enhanced interoperability and real-time processing.

Another key limitation is the lack of full interoperability with the Easytrip RFID system (of Metro Pacific Tollways).

While efforts have been made since 2017 to enable cross-use or enrolling Autosweep stickers with Easytrip and vice versa, motorists still need separate accounts and, in some cases, specific sticker types like the Neology RFID Duo for compatibility. This complexity suggests the system hasn’t fully evolved to meet seamless integration goals, unlike more unified systems elsewhere.

While RFID technology itself isn’t inherently outdated, its infrastructure — such as readers, servers, and software—may not have been consistently upgraded to handle high traffic volumes or prevent glitches, contributing to perceptions of obsolescence.

In November 2022, a glitch in SMC’s system caused RFID cards to be unreadable, leading to traffic mayhem on the Skyway and NAIAx.

SMC has often blamed the toll gate delays on 15 to 19 percent of vehicles having insufficient or zero RFID balances, slowing down toll processing.

The Autosweep usually fails during peak traffic, indicating that it’s substandard.

Modern systems in other countries use more resilient architecture, such as cloud-based processing or contactless multi-lane systems, which reduce downtime.

SMC’s infrastructure is failing to keep pace with demand and technological advancements.

While the RFID system isn’t fundamentally obsolete, its implementation lags behind best-in-class systems in terms of reliability, interoperability, and user experience.

RSA’s offer to solve the flooding problem should be taken with a grain of salt unless he first addresses the issues hounding the costly Skyway toll system.