CONVENIENCE and safety during travel matter a lot.
The new toll rates at the SCTEX, as approved by the Toll Regulatory Board, may have a pinch effect on some motorists. Just like any other price increase (who likes any of them, anyway?). But the new fees that will be collected will redound to greater benefits (read: convenience).
The NLEX Corporation, the private partner of the government that runs the 93-kilometer tollroad is investing more to make travel really comfortable and worry free.
For one, it is embarking on a P162- million improvement on its toll systems in all of its entry and exit points. Simply put, it means preventing any further misreads, delays, stalls when motorists go through those horizontal bars after payments are made – electronically and manually.
The improvements are set to be completed this year (not next year, folks).
Gone are the “El Shaddai” days at toll lanes when a motorist has to bring out the transponder device and wave it up high to a sensor in order to register a payment, mimicking the white hankies of followers being raised during religious gatherings (no offense meant there).
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The enhancements are all part of the P2.6 billion worth of infrastructure development geared towards the safety and convenience of motorists. They are being implemented at the SCTEX since the MVP company took over the management, operation, and maintenance of the west-north expressway.
And we are not yet talking about the NLEX per se (north-south between Sta. Ines to Balintawak) where the upgrade, repair and maintenance and capital expenditure are double at P6.9 billion with its vast improvements.
Both the NLEX Corporation and its mother company Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation have never ceased to be on the drawing boards, thinking not just of improvements but motorists’ safety and convenience.
We have seen the retrofitting of Candaba Viaduct and other bridges, installation of more lights, additional toll lanes, new entry and exit points (such as the Diamonds in Mabiga and Sta. Ines). I believe the amount does not include what it expended for the connector roads to major thoroughfares in Metro Manila.
The end-result of all these? A much safer and faster travel times. And faster travel means faster movement of goods and services which ultimately contributes to better economy not just for locales where the NLEX and SCTEX traverse but to the whole of Philippines.
Take a bow there sirs Rod Franco and Luigi Bautista of MPTC and NLEX Corp, respectively.
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Just like any other enterprises, these companies have had their share of woes at the height of the COVID pandemic.
The lockdown periods in 2020 and henceforth kept motorists at bay. Needless to say the fact that no travel means no revenues for tollroad operators. There was even a time when NLEX Corp waived toll fees for frontline workers and those in the essential industries. In short, there were unrealized and unmet target earnings and probably some losses.
But that has not kept these companies from pursuing improvement projects. So, what little additional toll increases (where maximum I think is ₱49.00 for Class 1 vehicle travelling Mabalacat City to Tipo Road in Bataan) is more than just justified. It is long overdue and it also accrues to the riding public with all the conveniences and safety measures they would have to enjoy when travelling NLEX and SCTEX.
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This year, all toll lanes in SCTEX will be furnished with new toll system equipment once the replacement of 46 units of old equipment for 33 toll lanes is completed.
To facilitate faster and more accurate transactions, 10 loop detectors and eight TCGs in Clark South A, Tipo, and SFEX, and eight AVC devices in Clark North A (Dolores), San Miguel, Dinalupihan, Floridablanca, and Tipo will be upgraded.
Ten toll fare indicators in SFEX, Tipo, Clark South A and Tarlac will also be replaced for better viewing of tollway fees, while 10 lane status indicators in Clark South B, Tarlac, and SFEX will be changed for greater visibility especially for those driving at night.