Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) on Saturday announced that motorists who don’t have RFIDs by November 2 will still be allowed passage in NLEX, SCTEX, CAVITEX, C5 Link and CALAX, but will be directed to the RFID installation lanes where they can have their RFID stickers installed.
Meanwhile, the operated tollways of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) — the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR), South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), the Skyway System, NAIA Expressway, and the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX) although it is ready to implement full cashless toll collection on November 2, the company said it would be extending the issuance of its free RFID stickers to November 30.
“We will convert some of the remaining cash lanes in all toll plazas of MPTC expressways to RFID installation lanes. At the same time, the off-site customer service stations will continue to operate and install RFID stickers,” MPTC Chief of Technology and MPT South President and General Manager Roberto V. Bontia said, adding that, “the stickers will remain to be free except for the initial load.”
This means that motorists can still have the RFID stickers installed on their vehicles even beyond November 2, 2020 — the first day of implementation of 100% RFID in all expressways following the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) Department Order 2020-012 which aims to help curb the spread of Covid-19 and ease passage.
NLEX Corporation J. Luigi L. Bautista said MPTC will open RFID installation lanes in all entry toll plazas to serve motorists who have not gotten their Easytrip RFID yet even after November 2. Aside from these drive-thru installation lanes, other RFID installation and reloading sites in various locations will remain open.
At NLEX-SCTEX, there will also be drive-thru reloading lanes in Balintawak, Mindanao, Bocaue, Angeles, and Tipo.
“There’s no need for those who will not travel on November 2 or infrequent expressway travelers to be in a rush to get the RFID stickers since they can have the RFID installed on the day of their travel. This is to avoid overcrowding and long queues at the installation sites,” Bautista said.
MPTC is aware that this is also a transition period for the motorists who have paid cash for the longest time. “In anticipation, we will have our RFID Assist Squads positioned at the toll plaza as it has always been our priority to help any motorist who would like to use our expressways at any time,” Bautista said.
The tollway company also reminds the public to avail of their Easytrip RFID stickers at authorized customer service stations, the location may be found in NLEX-SCTEX, CAVITEX-C5 Link and CALAX social media pages.
For inquiries and other concerns, customers may call the Easytrip hotline 8-555-7575 or send a message to Easytrip, NLEX Corporation, CAVITEX, and CALAX social media accounts.
SMC said, the surge in the number of motorists rushing to convert to the Autosweep RFID system have resulted in long queues at the installation stations, particularly these past two weeks.
As such, many motorists have yet to secure their RFID stickers, even as the date of implementation draws near.
For this reason, the company said it would be extending the issuance of its free RFID stickers to November 30.
“By November 2, all lanes at our toll plazas will be fully capable and converted to electronic toll collection, in full compliance with the government’s mandate. However, after careful study and deliberation, and especially in consideration of so many motorists who have not been able to secure an Autosweep RFID account because of the volume of applications we have today, we have decided to extend the deadline to November 30,” the company said.
“This means that from Nov. 2 to 30, vehicles without RFID will still be allowed to enter the expressways. Hopefully, this will give more time for motorists to get their RFID stickers,” the company said.
However, SMC emphasized that November 30 will be the absolute deadline. After which, vehicles without RFID stickers will not be allowed to enter SMC operated tollways including Skyway, SLEX, NAIAX, STAR Tollways and TPLEX.
Motorists who do not conform to the government mandate will have to be apprehended and issued a citation ticket, it said.
To provide more convenience to motorists, SMC has set up installation and reloading lanes at toll plaza entry points, in addition to the installation and reloading stations already set up in strategic locations in Metro Manila and Luzon provinces.