Gov plans unified electronic toll system this year

The government plans to implement a unified electronic toll collection system alongside full cashless tolling this year, despite postponing the original March 15 deadline.

Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) Executive Director Alvin Carullo expressed optimism that both contactless payment and interoperability among electronic toll wallet systems will be implemented within the year.

The TRB is currently auditing account management systems of toll operators like San Miguel Corp. Tollways and Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., uncovering delays in real-time charging of toll fees, with proof-of-concept testing scheduled for August-September.

Both the TRB and toll concessionaires are working to resolve issues such as defective RFID tags and compliance with readability rates before conducting a dry run two months later.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is reviewing the present situation of the toll expressway, particularly account management and radio-frequency identification (RFID) issues, to ensure all problems are resolved before full implementation.