The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) projects implementing the interoperability of electronic toll collection (ETC) systems in expressways north and south of Manila by either June or July this year.
Alvin Carullo, TRB executive director, said the agency is meeting with tollway operators every month to ensure they are ready for the implementation of toll interoperability by then.
“Hopefully, as we implement the full cashless and remove interoperability barriers, the travel experience of motorists along tollways will get a tremendous boost,” he said.
With interoperability, motorists can now use one RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) instead of two and travel seamlessly without delay.
San Miguel Corp., which operates Skyway, South Luzon Expressway, STAR Tollway and NAIAx uses the AutoSweep RFID tag, while Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., which operates Manila Cavity Expressway, C5 Link Expressway and Cavity Laguna Expressway, uses the EasyTrip RFID tag for electronic toll collection.
The Toll Collection Interoperability project was launched in 2017 with the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the DOTr, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Land Transportation Office-Philippines (LTO), Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), San Miguel Group, Metro Pacific Group, and the Ayala Group.
The agreement required toll road companies to make adjustments in their systems allowing for the interoperability and integration of toll collection.
As of September last year, the average daily traffic at the NLEX total 321,384 daily vehicle entries while the average daily traffic at SCTEX total 77,878 vehicle entries.
The average daily traffic at the Connector Road Section 1 stands at to 12,000 vehicles per day while SLEX has 351,274.
