Toll plazas at major expressways are extremely high-contact areas, which is why cashless transactions via RFIDs along tollways have been encouraged throughout this COVID-19 pandemic.
In the near future, however, electronic toll collection will not only be encouraged, but enforced. The Department of Transportation (DOTr) announced earlier today that it will soon be requiring toll operators to implement cashless and contactless transactions to further limit physical contact as well as to reduce congestion at toll plazas. This coincides with San Miguel Corporation’s recent announcement that it will shift to cashless payments by January 2021.
These new guidelines from the DOTr will be implemented under Department Order 2020-012, which was signed on August 13, 2020. The order also entails other agencies such as the Toll Regulatory Board, the Land Transportation Office, and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to work with the DOTr during this transition to a full contactless system along all expressways.
“We carry with us the burden of ensuring that our transport facilities will not be a transmission vector of the disease while at the same time providing an efficient system of public transport. With both tasks at hand, there is a need to strike a balance. Requiring contactless transactions is one of our ways of doing it,” said DOTr secretary Arthur Tugade.
You can check out the official announcement below.
Once this is in full effect, all northern and southern tollways will be required to comply with the new guidelines. If you traverse any of these highways regularly and have yet to secure an RFID for yourself, then take note that both the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation and SMC Tollways are now offering free installation services for their Easytrip and Autosweep tags.
For more of our stories on the ongoing crisis, click here. For the latest news and updates on COVID-19, check out reportr.world/covid-19.
