Toll Regulatory Board studying proposals for open road tolling

The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) has been studying proposals for open road tolling and is set to convene toll operators this week amid complaints hounding the cashless payment system.

In Saleema Refran’s “24 Oras” report, TRB spokesman Julius Corpuz said a lot of issues still needed to be resolved with the current toll setup before a shift to open road tolling can be done.

"Ang ating current set-up may not be very much ready on that kind dahil may mga issues pa sigurong dapat ayusin, mga equipment na dapat pang dagdagan or i-upgrade para magkaroon din ng maayos na implementasyon ng barrier-less tolling,” he said.

Corpuz added that payment monitoring concerns must also be addressed.

"Maaari po kasing may mga magsasamantala na ating mga kababayan na wala namang RFID, doon dadaan. E malilibre po siguro 'yung mga 'yun, may pagsasamantala sila,” he said.

“But maaari naman po sina General Manager [Jojo] Garcia ng MMDA, baka it's a matter of enforcement lamang,” he added.

The North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Corporation said open road tolling is part of its electronic toll collection roadmap.

However, its implementation could not be rushed because of the many changes that were needed.

“Tingin po namin itong barrier-free setup ay makukumpleto po natin within two to three years. Our country’s infrastructure has to be ready for a barrier-free system,” NLEX Vice President for Technology Glenn Campos said.

The Senate earlier urged the Department of Transportation to suspend the fully cashless RFID system adopted by tollways amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The first day of the shift to the cashless system at NLEX was marred by heavy traffic.

The local government of Valenzuela later suspended the business permit of NLEX Corporation over the massive traffic it caused, leading to a decongestion of tollways in the city.

Last week, the NLEX said cash lanes would be reopened alongside RFID lanes to address the challenges posed by the cashless system.  — Julia Mari Ornedo/DVM, GMA News