This is it, ladies and gents. As of today, December 1, 2020, toll operators have officially gone cashless. Starting today, the northern and southern expressways accept RFID-only payment transactions at the toll plazas.
There still won’t be apprehensions until January 11, 2021 as promised by the Department of Transportation (DOTr), and certain lanes at toll booths have been converted to RFID-installation lanes for the benefit of those who have yet to get RFID stickerss for their vehicles. Unfortunately, it appears hundreds of motorists are now having their Easytrip and Autosweep tags installed at the toll plazas, leading to absolute chaos at this morning. It seems our worst fears have been realized.
The situation along North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) has been abysmal, and the live updates from earlier this morning say it all. There’s been heavy traffic at the Balintawak, Mindanao, Karuhatan, Bocaue, and Balagtas toll plazas for hours now already, and it doesn’t look like the situation will be improving anytime soon.
The same can be said about the Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex). Recent updates show that motorists are now crawling through heavy traffic around the Cavitex toll plazas.
Frankly, things look even messier today than they were the weeks prior. You may recall that in a recent statement, San Miguel Corporation president Ramon S. Ang said that he believes another extension is needed for a smooth transition to this cashless payment system. Judging by what we’ve seen from this morning, it looks like the man might be right.
Anyway, we’ll bring you more updates from today as we have them, so watch this space. For now, tell us in the comments what you think of what you’ve seen from this morning so far. Likewise, if you have more RFID-related questions, you can also refer to our previous story here.
