By Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter
THE radio frequency identification (RFID) system, which uses electronic tags to manage toll payments without physical contact, should be improved and made reliable before fines are imposed on motorists, two senators said on Thursday.
“Before imposing a penalty on our motorists, the RFID system must first pass the test of reliability, efficiency, and interoperability,” Senator Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares said in a statement.
“As it is, motorists still complain — and we have personally experienced this — of devices that cannot read the RFID stickers,” she added.
The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) has announced that starting Aug. 31, motorists without RFID tags will face fines of up to P5,000, while those with insufficient balances will be fined up to P2,500.
According to the TRB, motorists entering an access highway without an electronic toll collection (ETC) device will incur a fine of P1,000 for the first offense, P2,000 for the second offense, and P5,000 for subsequent offenses.
Motorists exiting toll expressways with insufficient account balances will be fined P500 for the first offense, P1,000 for the second offense, and P2,500 for subsequent offenses.
“The move to impose fines on motorists who do not have RFID or have insufficient load on tollways is anti-consumer and raises several important issues that must be addressed,” Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros-Baraquel said in a statement.
“Kahit pwedeng irehistro ang Autosweep gamit ang Easytrip system at vice versa, walang full interoperability dahil kailangan pa rin na parehong may maintaining balance (Although it is possible to register Autosweep using the Easytrip system and vice versa, there is no full interoperability because both systems still require maintaining a balance),” she said.
“Iilan lang din ang loading stations at madalas, kailangan talagang puntahan sa expressways bago makapagpa-install o makapagpaload (There are also only a few loading stations, and often, one must physically visit expressways to install or reload),” she added.
Nigel Paul C. Villarete, senior adviser on public-private partnership at Libra Konsult, Inc., said that the public should be given sufficient time to comply with the new directive.
He said that the deadline for compliance could be extended to Sept. 15 or even Sept. 30.
Mr. Villarete also suggested retaining cash lanes for infrequent users of expressways.
“There will always be vehicle owners who wouldn’t want to acquire RFID devices because they are not regular users of tollways and may just need to pass through once,” he said.
He also proposed a system to remind users about their account balance to prevent fines and inconvenience.
Rene S. Santiago, former president of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines, said while imposing fines for motorists with insufficient funds is unnecessary, the penalty for non-RFID users is not surprising.
“That rule has always been there, since RFID was made mandatory for all toll users. Lopsided in favor of tollway operators, as it grants them free equity in hundreds of millions of pesos,” Mr. Santiago said.
“Also, the penalty is unnecessary because insufficiency can be recouped next time users reload,” he said.
Ms. Poe-Llamanzares noted that the congestion of vehicles at the expressway toll booths “manifests the unreliability of the system.”
“The regulator and the private entities running it must fix the current RFID woes and prove the technology of cashless payment will give our motorists a better travel experience than inconvenience,” she added.