By means of Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter
THE radio frequency identification (RFID) system, which uses electronic tags to manage toll payments without physical contact, must be improved and made reliable before fines are imposed on motorists, two senators said on Thursday.
“Before we fine 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 – about devices that cannot read the RFID stickers,” she added.
The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) has announced that starting August 31, motorists without RFID tags will be fined up to P5,000, while motorists with insufficient balances will be fined up to P2,500.
According to the TRB, motorists who enter an access road without an electronic toll collection (ETC) device will be fined P1,000 for the first violation, P2,000 for the second violation and P5,000 for subsequent violations.
Motorists who leave toll highways with insufficient account balance will be fined P500 for the first violation, P1,000 for the second violation and P2,500 for subsequent violations.
“The move to impose fines on motorists who do not have RFID or insufficient tax on toll roads is anti-consumer and raises a number of important issues that need to be addressed,” Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros-Baraquel said in a statement declaration.
“Kahit pwedeng irehistro ang Auto swipe gamit ang Easytrip system bee vice versa, Walang full interoperability dahil kailangan pa rin na parehong mei maintaining balance (although it is possible to register Autosweep using the Easytrip system and vice versa, there is not full interoperability as both systems still require the maintenance of a balance),” she said.
“I have no choice but to do this charging stations at madalas, kailangan talagang puntahan sa highways bago makapagpa-install oh makapagpacharging (there are also only a few charging stations, and often you have to physically visit highways to install or recharge),” she added.
Nigel Paul C. Villarete, senior public-private partnership advisor at Libra Konsult, Inc., said the public should be given sufficient time to comply with the new directive.
He said the deadline for compliance could be extended to September 15 or even September 30.
Mr Villarete also suggested retaining cash lanes for irregular highway users.
“There will always be car owners who do not want to purchase RFID devices because they are not regular users of toll roads and may only have to go through them once,” he says.
He also proposed a system to remind users of their account balances to avoid fines and inconvenience.
Rene S. Santiago, former president of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines, said that while imposing fines on cashless motorists is unnecessary, the punishment for non-RFID users is not surprising.
“That rule has always been there, since RFID was made mandatory for all toll users. Skewed in favor of toll road operators because it grants them free shares in hundreds of millions of pesos,” Mr. Santiago said.
“Moreover, the fine is unnecessary as insufficiency can be recouped the next time users top up,” he said.
Ms. Poe-Llamanzares noted that the congestion of vehicles at highway toll booths “manifests the unreliability of the system.”
“The regulator and the private entities that run it must solve the current RFID problems and prove that cash payment technology will provide our motorists with a better travel experience than inconvenience,” she added.