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Amid RFID issues, Tugade says there’s plan to unify all tollway systems

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Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/business/11/24/20201022-nlex-balintawak-tollway-md-7047.jpg"/><figcaption>Vehicles queue at the Balintawak toll plaza on October 22, 2020. <em>Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/file</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA - Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade on Thursday said toll operators are expected to begin rolling out radio frequency identification (RFID) stickers that could be used on all tollways starting next month.</p><p>The Department of Transportation wants to start the first phase of the project in January and achieve a &quot;complete cashless transaction&quot; system by &quot;mid-next year,&quot; Tugade said during a Senate hearing.</p><p>&quot;&#x27;Yung mga bumibiyahe sa NLEX, puwede na sa sistema ng San Miguel,&quot; he said, referring to the North Luzon Expressway, which is under the Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), and San Miguel Corp., which operates that South Luzon Expressway.</p><p>(Those who travel along NLEX can use it in San Miguel&#x27;s system.)</p><p>The two tollway operators use different RFID stickers: Easytrip for MPTC tollways, including NLEX, SCTEX, Cavitex, Harbour Link and Cala Expressway, and Autosweep for SMC&#x27;s SLEX, TPLEX, and STAR Tollway.</p><p>&quot;Maa-achieve po &#x27;yan by mid of next year ... Ewan ko po kung kakayanin namin, pero we will work hand in hand,&quot; he said.</p><p>(We can achieve it by mid of next year... I don&#x27;t know if we can do it, but we will work hand in hand.)</p><p>Sen. Nancy Binay asked Tugade if the cash lanes in expressways would be scrapped by mid-2021, to which the Transportation chief clarified that cash-based transactions would still be honored for &quot;emergencies.&quot;</p><p>&quot;We will always allow the avenue of having a cash booth for emergency,&quot; Tugade said.</p><p>His announcement came days after senators and motorists slammed the agency&#x27;s directive for toll operators to implement a full cashless transaction system this month to prevent the spread of COVID-19.</p><p>Tugade earlier apologized for inconvenience brought about by the shift to cashless payments in toll plazas, admitting that the system has yet to be perfected.</p><p>He blamed the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), which he chairs, for its &quot;failure&quot; to implement some of his directives that would have supposedly shortened the processing time to install RFID stickers.</p><p>Some motorists spent long hours on the queue to have RFID stickers installed on their vehicles.</p><p>On Wednesday, President Rodrigo Duterte called TRB officials &quot;incompetent&quot; for failing to test the cashless transaction scheme before mandating motorists to shift to the new mode of payment.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rq7ZQnnGTpo?enablejsapi=1"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><div> </div>

<p>The Department of Transportation wants to start the first phase of the project in January and achieve a "complete cashless transaction" system by "mid-next year," Tugade said during a Senate hearing.</p>

The Department of Transportation wants to start the first phase of the project in January and achieve a "complete cashless transaction" system by "mid-next year," Tugade said during a Senate hearing.

Amid RFID issues, Tugade says there’s plan to unify all tollway systems

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Amid RFID issues, Tugade says there’s plan to unify all tollway systems

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 18, 2020 01:49 PM PHT

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Arthur Tugade

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