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Traffic builds up along EDSA in Quezon City on April 1, 2024, as people return to work or school after the Holy Week. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

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EDSA Traffic Returns

RG Cruz

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/171222196934720240401-edsa-traffic-holy-week-MD--6.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(51, 51, 51);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline !important;--darkreader-inline-color:#c8c3bc;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:#181a1b">Traffic builds up along EDSA in Quezon City on April 1, 2024, as people return to work or school after the Holy Week. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA -- Tollway regulators and operators are set to make tollways contact-less, cash-less and barrier-less after the vehicular congestion experienced at the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) on Holy Wednesday.</p><p>NLEX is likewise planning an elevated motorway from Balintawak to Bocaue.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/31/traffic-build-up-begins-as-families-return-from-holy-week-vacations-2152" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Traffic build-up begins as families return from Holy Week vacations</a></div><p>On Thursday, House Deputy Majority Leader Erwin Tulfo met with officials of the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) and NLEX Corporation which operate the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), and Skyway O&amp;M Corporation, SMC Tollways and San Miguel Holdings Corp., which operate the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX).</p><p>TRB Executive Director Alvin Carullo said tollways under their jurisdiction will be cashless or contactless sometime in June.</p><p>&quot;And in July or thereafter we will implement the interoperability phase 3,  meaning we will have one account or one wallet with one RFID,&quot; he said.</p><div><span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;--darkreader-inline-color:#bfb9b1;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:#181a1b;display:inline !important">&quot;As well as we have a third program, namely the barrier-less or the open road tolling system, which will further enhance the efficiency of the tollway expressway,&quot; he added. </span></div><p>The official said these will make travel efficient and convenient for motorists.</p><p>But former Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson said going barrier-less might take time.</p><p>&quot;But we will already start the motion--as Executive Director Carullo mentioned, there are phases. You move to common interoperability. One RFID or both, and then eventually move to barrier-less, which is already the international standard for expressways overseas,&quot; Singson said.</p><p>&quot;Which means we will need to take out all the toll booths; we will start with Phase 1 -- taking out the toll booths at the entry,&quot; Singson said. </p><p>&quot;But in the exits for one year we will still have the toll booths (to get motorists used to it). Again the discipline is going to be necessary so we hope that we can start implementing,&quot; he noted.</p><p>&quot;We are going to start testing by November. In fact we are already testing currently (at the NLEX) Connector,&quot; Singson said as he explained that the segment no longer has barriers.</p><p>Singson said in place of the toll booths, they will have camera installations that can take visuals of plate numbers. It may take 2 years before the barrier-less tollway is fully implemented, he said.</p><p>He added they also have to work out with the national and local government the expansion of local roads because that could cause congestion outside the tollways.</p><div><span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline !important;--darkreader-inline-color:#bfb9b1;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:#181a1b">An apologetic Singson explained that Holy Wednesday&#x27;s congestion at the NLEX was caused by volume of vehicles, and about 10,000 vehicles who either<span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline !important;--darkreader-inline-color:#bfb9b1;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:#181a1b"> had no e-wallet load for electronic payments or defective RFID stickers.</span></span></div><p><span id="isPasted"></span>&quot;We experienced 33 percent growth for that particular day instead of the average 40,000-50,000 vehicles, and on peak...87,000 vehicles on that Wednesday afternoon till  early morning of Thursday,&quot; he said.</p><div><span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;--darkreader-inline-color:#bfb9b1;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:#181a1b;display:inline !important">&quot;There were about over 5,000 with non-enough load for RFID, and another 5,000 with defective stickers. We&#x27;ve been offering to the motoring public replacement of stickers but apparently people still used the expressways with either a defective sticker or insufficient load,&quot; he said.</span></div><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/q6BivsGVMxY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><span id="isPasted"><span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline !important;--darkreader-inline-color:#bfb9b1;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:#181a1b">&quot;We were computing at 11,000 vehicles out of the 87,000 using the tollroads easily (held up those at the back by) 3-4 hours,&quot; he explained. </span></span></div><p>Singson also said that NLEX is at maximum capacity and needs expansion.</p><p>&quot;So the next solution we are proposing is to have an elevated expressway on top of Balintawak interchange all the way to Bocaue, so we will be putting together a plan to submit to government to TRB a 2x3 elevated expressway from Balintawak all the way to Bocaue,&quot; he said.</p><p>Singson also urged Congress and the Department of Public Works and Highways to empower toll operators to go after motorists who enter the expressways without sufficient e-wallet load or defective RFIDs.</p><p>The former official said making tollways barrier-less doesn&#x27;t make them free for motorists.</p><p>When asked if they will seek to hike toll rates, Singson floated the idea of extending the NLEX concession instead.</p><p>&quot;There are 2 ways of handling that. As you know the concession period is only until 2037. Now if we load all of that on tariff (that&#x27;s painful to the) consumers.&quot;</p><p>&quot;(They won&#x27;t hurt from) concession term extension, I think that to me is an easier sell, having been in government for sometime. Mas madaling i-justify yun bigyan na lang ng concession extension so that hindi tumaas yung tariff may mga solutions naman (a concession term extension is easier to justify so that the toll tariff doesn&#x27;t go up.)</p><p>Meanwhile,  Skyway O&amp;M Corp. president and chief executive officer Rafael C. Yabut said they are <span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;--darkreader-inline-color:#bfb9b1;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:#181a1b;display:inline !important">already implementing measures to prevent congestion at the SLEX, such as widening and extending the tollway.</span></p><p>Yabut explained that <span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;--darkreader-inline-color:#bfb9b1;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:#181a1b;display:inline !important">the SLEX will be expanded from a 4x4 road to a 6x6 road, while the STAR Tollway will go from a 2x2 road to a 4x4 road.</span></p><div><span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;--darkreader-inline-color:#bfb9b1;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:#181a1b;display:inline !important">He also explained that they will extend the SLEX to Lucena City from Santo Tomas, Batangas. They are also extending the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX) to San Juan, La Union.</span></div><div><span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;--darkreader-inline-color:#bfb9b1;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:#181a1b;display:inline !important"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/11/09/23/neda-oks-new-coast-guard-ships-bridges-tplex-extension" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>NEDA approves new vessels for PH Coast Guard, bridges for farmers, TPLEX extension</strong></a></span></div>

<p>Tollway regulators and operators are set to make tollways contact-less, cash-less and barrier-less after the vehicular congestion at the NLEX on Holy Wednesday.</p>

Tollway regulators and operators are set to make tollways contact-less, cash-less and barrier-less after the vehicular congestion at the NLEX on Holy Wednesday.

Cashless, contactless, barrier-less tollways after Holy Week congestion

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Cashless, contactless, barrier-less tollways after Holy Week congestion

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published Apr 04, 2024 05:35 PM PHT

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