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Implementation of RFID to push through–DOTr

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2 years ago

December 2, 2020 01:38 PM

Amid calls to extend the installation of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags for public vehicles, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) maintained that the rollout of cashless solutions for tollroad transactions should not be delayed further, especially after operators reported that a number of their tellers had tested positive for coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Transportation Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope Libiran on Wednesday assured that motorists who have yet to secure their RFID stickers may have them installed in the designated “stickering” booth near toll plazas.

If need be, Libiran said operators may be directed to designate permanent stickering lanes in their toll stations.

“Please note that the primary reason for cashless transactions is to protect the health of the public from Covid-19, so this needs to be done now more than ever. The government has allowed a transition period and ‘stickering’ lanes will be maintained,” Libiran told reporters.

“We are just asking the public motorists to ensure that they have enough balance in their cards. They don’t have to go to the toll plazas to reload because that primarily caused the traffic build-up in our expressways,” she added.

Meanwhile, Toll Regulatory Board Executive Director Abraham Sales noted the vehicular congestion along toll plazas and the occasional glitches in the systems are only part of the “birthing pains” of the cashless collection policy.

The full implementation of the new measure, which is meant to manage and contain the spread of Covid-19, was initially targeted to begin on 2 November but it was rescheduled to start on 1 December.

The DoTr reiterated that the deadline “will no longer be extended beyond this date.”

However, the agency has set a one-month transition period to allow operators to integrate a smooth toll collecting systems.

This means that there will be no apprehension for vehicles without the RFID tags until 11 January.

Public motorists will only be issued a traffic violation ticket if they are in the wrong lane.

Data from toll operators showed that as of 1 December, the overall cashless payment penetration rate at the North Luzon toll roads stood at 83 percent, while the rate at the South Luzon toll roads was at 99 percent. These numbers are set to go higher as operators install more stickers.

Apart from reducing the security risks in cash handling, cashless toll collections are “safer than cash” as paper money may retain bacterias and viruses on their surfaces.

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