THE former spokesperson of the Department of Transportation and officer-in-charge of the Maritime Industry Authority lauded the DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista for deferring the implementation of the revised guidelines on toll expressways. The guidelines, which were initially set to take effect on August 31, 2024, have now been postponed to October 1, 2024.
“I commend Secretary Bautista for his decision to defer the implementation of the new tollway guidelines. This extension allows for a more comprehensive review and enhancement of our toll collection systems, ensuring that motorists are not unduly penalized due to the shortcomings of the current RFID technology,” said Atty. Conti, Convenor of the CLICK Partylist and CEO of Capstone-Intel Corp.
The revised guidelines, contained in Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 2024-01, were signed on August 1 by Sec. Bautista, Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II of the Land Transportation Office (LTO), and Executive Director Alvin Carullo of the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB).
The guidelines update the responsibilities of the LTO, TRB, DOTr, tollway concessionaires, and users and introduce penalties for motorists lacking installed electronic toll collection (ETC) devices or having insufficient RFID load balance.
Atty. Conti had previously called on the TRB to focus on modernizing toll collection systems before imposing penalties on motorists.
“The persistent congestion on our toll roads, especially in Metro Manila, is largely due to defective RFID readers and the lack of a uniform payment system across various tollway concessionaires,” Atty. Conti stated.
He emphasized the need for the TRB to adopt state-of-the-art toll collection technology similar to those used in countries like Singapore, Germany, and the United States, where toll systems are seamless and efficient.
“Modernizing our toll collection systems will not only improve efficiency and convenience for motorists but also ensure accurate and transparent toll collection, which is crucial for revenue generation and road maintenance,” he added.
Atty. Conti also stressed the importance of a standardized toll collection system across all toll roads to avoid the need for multiple RFID tags or compatibility issues.
“A unified system will benefit all road users, ensuring a smoother and more consistent travel experience,” he noted.
With the 30-day deferment, Atty. Conti urges the concerned agencies and tollway operators to use this time to fine-tune expressway operations and intensify the public information campaign to enable tollway users to comply with the new guidelines.
“This is an opportunity for the TRB to address the existing issues with our toll systems and to align with global best practices for toll collection,” he concluded.
