DOTr: Cashless toll system to push through December 1

MANILA, Philippines — Implementing contactless toll payments along expressways is “a matter of extreme importance” in the midst of the pandemic and cannot be deferred beyond Dec. 1, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said the other day.

In a statement, the DOTr said the primary purpose of its order requiring cashless transactions for all vehicles traveling along tollways is to prevent transmission of the coronavirus disease.

“Any delay in its implementation amid the COVID-19 pandemic will only make motorists, as well as the personnel manning the toll plazas, vulnerable to unwanted and unnecessary physical contact and hence, exposure to the deadly coronavirus,” the agency said.

“Amid a raging pandemic, public health and safety cannot take the back seat in favor of convenience,” it added.

Its statement came out following a request from Valenzuela City Rep. Wes Gatchalian to further postpone the full implementation of DOTr’s 100-percent use of electronic payment systems along tollways.

Last month, the DOTr already moved the full implementation of its order from Nov. 2 to Dec. 1.

The extension was ordered to give motorists, especially infrequent expressway users, more time to comply with the new mandate and to ease the long queues at toll plazas in the rush to install RFID stickers.

On the issue of limited RFID installation sites, the DOTr said the solution is not to defer the cashless program, but for toll operators to add more installation booths and manpower at strategic places.

It said the shift to cashless toll payments is just Phase 1 of a three-phase project leading to toll interoperability.

The project’s Phase 2 involves the use of two radio-frequency identification (RFID) wallets, which will make a single RFID sticker readable by sensors along different expressways. Each wallet will contain the “load” for payments at specific toll plazas.

Phase 3 of the project will involve the use of just one RFID sticker for all toll expressways and maintain only one wallet for toll payments.

However, the DOTr said interoperability would merely provide added convenience to motorists who no longer need to install two RFID tags.

“Thus, implementation of the cashless program should not wait for interoperability of the toll system,” the agency said.