Motorists who will be traversing the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and exit either at Dau in Pampanga, or Tipo at the end of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) during the Holy Week will be able to enjoy the express-payment scheme that will be implemented from 2pm on April 4 to 5pm on April 5.
With the Holy Week Express Lane, Class 1 vehicles that will exit either at the Dau Toll Plaza or the Tipo exit in SCTEX from the Balintawak Toll Plaza or the Mindanao Avenue toll gate can use special lanes where a one-time toll payment will be collected.
Ambulant tellers will also be deployed at the exit points to facilitate transactions faster.
"Our current daily average traffic along the NLEX is 160,000 vehicles per day, with the toll gates being busy up to around 6pm," said Bobby Bontia, Tollways Management Corporation (TMC) vice president for toll operations. "With the flow of traffic during the Holy Week expected to go up by as much as 200,000 vehicles per day, we hope that the one-time payment through the express lane will facilitate a faster flow of traffic through the toll gates and lessen the time the toll gates are busy, from 6pm to 4pm."
Asked why the express lane scheme is only being implemented for the northbound lane only, Bontia said the Manila North Tollways Corporation and TMC expect the traffic back to Manila will be spread out more evenly as the Holy Week winds down to a close by April 9, thus negating the need to put up a similar scheme for the southbound lane.
