Expressway drivers should load up their RFIDs next month since cash lanes will be abolished for a two-month dry run of contactless or cashless toll collection.
On Wednesday, the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) advised tollway operators and concessionaires to dry run the Contactless Program on chosen qualifying toll plazas for two months starting September 1, 2023.
On August 13, 2020, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) issued Department Order No. 2020-12 requiring cashless or contactless transactions for all vehicles traveling on toll roads to reduce COVID-19 transmission and improve expressway traffic flow.
The TRB reported that the DOTr issued a “addendum” on January 29, 2021, allowing vehicles without RFID stickers and requiring cash lanes in all toll plazas due to numerous complaints during the November 2020 implementation due to ETC system constraints and glitches.
Cashless toll collection will be tested in accordance with a House of Representatives Committee on Transportation decision to reimplement it.
From February 23 to June 22, 2023, the TRB performed specific performance checks on 717 of 852 operating toll lanes to prepare for the dry run.
The TRB said the remaining 135 cash lanes (16%), will be evaluated once converted to ETC lanes.
Several toll plazas and lanes passed the 98% Readability Rate, while some expressways passed Account Management.
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