Senators question TRB over another toll rate hike on NLEX

Several senators questioned the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) for approving another toll adjustment at the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) supposedly to be implemented this August, despite a malfunctioning radio frequency identification (RFID) system.

Following the implementation of the second tranche of toll adjustments for NLEX effective June 4, 2024, the TRB said toll rates at NLEX are set to go higher, based on an Unang Balita report of Dano Tingcungco.

Lawmakers then asked the TRB why it was approved when there are still faulty cashless readers that result in traffic along the expressways.

“Mr. Chairman, I took the liberty of again, going through the toll booths…Hindi gumagana ang RFID. May manual para i-click po ‘yung card, para makapasok po,” Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Services on Monday.

(Some RFIDs are not working. Some have to do it manually so they can get in.)

“So in other words, kapag ganito ang nangyayari, nagbubuhol buhol na ‘yung traffic [if this happens, there is traffic],” he added.

According to the TRB, the toll hike was due to the accumulated toll adjustments that were not approved before.

TRB authorized the implementation of the first tranche or 50% of the approved toll adjustments last May 25, 2023.

“Ang Board po ay inaprubahan ‘yung petition dahil unang una, meron tayong tinatawag na kontrata, ‘yung Supplemental Toll Operation Agreement. Tapos may nakalagay do’n na ang ating concessionaire can increase for every two years,” TRB executive director Atty. Alvin Carullo said.

(The Board approved the petition because we have a contract called the Supplemental Toll Operation Agreement that states that our concessionaire can increase the toll rates for every two years.)

Senator Raffy Tulfo then told TRB that their adjustments have to be justified. He also asked the board not to implement its supposed toll increase this August.

Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), the operator of NLEX, SCTEX, CALAX, and CAVITEX, are already in the process of exchanging the first generation RFID readers that are malfunctioning.

MPTC President Rogelio Singson said that some RFID stickers were placed incorrectly or were damaged.

“The issue here is the kung ‘yung sticker ay gastado na o nalagay sa maling lugar, hindi mababasa ‘yan, that’s why nagma-manual,” Singson said.

(The issue here is that if the sticker is worn out or placed in the wrong place, it cannot be read, that's why it is done manually.)

“And that’s why the program, as far as we’re concerned, is a massive replacement,” he said.  

Back in April, the TRB said it launched an investigation into the faulty RFID system which caused traffic jams in several expressways during the Holy Week break.

The TRB also plans to implement this year a unified wallet or one RFID sticker for cashless payment in all expressways. —Giselle Ombay/KG, GMA Integrated News