THE Toll Regulatory Board said on Tuesday, December 8, 2020, that it is poised to impose penalties on toll operators violating the rules in the implementation of cashless and contactless transactions on toll expressways.
“Continuing operations and systems audit in the enforcement of cashless transaction in toll plazas, has identified glitches that have been brought to the attention of the toll operators,” the board said in a statement.
“These glitches, admitted by the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Corporation to be happening, are not new to TRB management and were subject to notices to correct,” it added.
The TRB said among the measures issued to toll operators to achieve the least inconvenience in cashless transactions include immediate replacement of worn-out or defective sensors, RFID tags and other RFID-related equipment; relocate or reposition RFID installation and reloading lanes that hamper traffic flow; maintain, improve and upgrade systems software, enhance traffic management, and improve customer service assistance.
Meanwhile, the TRB said the move of the Valenzuela City Government to suspend the business permit of NLEX Corporation is a local issue.
The board said NLEX has assured that it is being given appropriate action for it be resolved in the soonest possible time.
On Monday, December 7, Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian served the suspension order against the NLEX, stopping the company’s toll collection activities.
The NLEX has five toll gates in Valenzuela City, including that on Mindanao Avenue, one of the major entry points to Metro Manila, aside from the Balintawak toll plaza in Caloocan City.
Glitches in NLEX’s RFID system had caused traffic congestion in Valenzuela. Gatchalian served the suspension order after the company failed to present an action plan to solve the problem by 5:01 p.m. Monday.
In a radio interview on Wednesday, December 9, Gatchalian said the meeting supposedly with the NLEX officials to iron out the issue was postponed.
“Kaninang umaga kasi narinig namin sa isang panayam si (NLEX senior vice president Romulo Quimbo Jr.) may parang banta na pupunta sila sa korte. Ipo-postpone na lang namin itong pag-uusap kasi ‘yun pala pupunta naman sila sa korte, doon nalang kami mag-usap,” he said.
“We welcome them bringing us to court kasi alam namin na legal ang ginagawa ng local na pamahalaan. Alam rin namin na ang paglaban para sa karapatan ng mga Valenzualano ay trabaho ng local na pamahalaan,” he added.
He said the toll holiday in Valenzuela City will continue until NLEX addresses the “technological issues” of the RFID system.
Support
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte has lauded and expressed support for Gatchalian’s decision, noting that the traffic congestion in the Mindanao toll plaza affects the roads leading there which are parts of QC.
“I fully support cashless transactions, especially as this is part of the new normal. But if implementation is flawed, then the purpose of this technology, which is to promote convenience and speed up the flow of vehicular traffic, will not be achieved. In the case of Mindanao Avenue, traffic has in fact worsened,” she said in a statement.
Caloocan City Mayor Oscar Malapitan, for his part, said he will meet with the officials of NLEX to resolve the traffic jams in their Balintawak toll entrance which are also caused by the glitches in its RFID system.
"Itatanong ko sa kanila kung gaano magtatagal ito. Ano ang maitutulong ng pamahaalang lungsod, baka kulang sila ng manpower or whatever at kailan ba dadating 'yung sensor nila. Kailangan siguro nila palitan mga sensor nila," he said in a radio interview.
"Napakaluwag ho ng entrance nila at hindi naman umaaabot ng EDSA 'yung traffic na dinudulot nila," he added.
As an added measure to prevent the further spread of the Covid-19, the government earlier required toll operators to implement cashless transactions in the toll plazas.
The measure has caused monstrous traffic in the toll plazas particularly in NLEX because of the sensors which hardly detect the RFID of some travelers.
Due to its malfunctioning sensors, NLEX personnel were still deployed in the toll plazas to receive the cards from motorists and do manual encoding, defeating the purpose of contactless transactions. (SunStar Philippines)