DOTr to suspend ‘anti-poor’ cashless toll collection system

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The Department of Transportation under Vince Dizon sets aside the Toll Regulatory Board policy that's supposed to take effect on March 15

MANILA, Philippines – Toll expressways will not be going cashless anytime soon, new Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon said on Friday, February 21.

He views the policy — which was set to be implemented by March 15 — as “anti-poor.” Dizon added that the department will review the toll collection system and infrastructure first.

“Siguro pagdating ng panahon, na-perfect na ‘yung system,” Dizon said in a media briefing. (Maybe one day, we shall have perfected the system.)

“Pero (But) right now, I don’t believe in it, so I asked [the Toll Regulatory Board] to stop it, and I’ve already sent word to the toll operators that we’re not going cashless on March 15, and we are not going cashless for the foreseeable future,” he added.

The TRB made the announcement last weekend, saying that a cashless toll collection system would make traffic flow more efficient.

Toll operators — which include Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation and San Miguel-led SMC Tollways — welcomed the policy as majority of motorists plying expressways already have an electronic toll collection (ETC) device or a radio-frequency identification (RFID) sticker installed.

The cashless toll collection program has been on the pipeline for months as it is seen as one of the solutions to address traffic congestion in major expressways.

However, system issues, like the readability of RFID stickers, have prompted its postponement.

“Naiintindihan ko ‘yung need to regulate, pero kailangan (I understand the need to regulate, but) the need to regulate should not result in making the lives of people difficult,” Dizon said on Friday. – Rappler.com