It is wrong for the DOTr to insist on the Dec. 1 deadline for all vehicles to get RFIDs to use on the tollways. Given the number of vehicles that must be registered, the tollway companies will simply be overwhelmed.
The tollway companies are trying their best to meet the deadline, but there are physical and logistical limits. One tollways spokesman told the Inquirer that they are working to improve their app, even as he admitted that it encountered problems due to “a tsunami of new RFID customers.” It is easy for the DOTr and the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) to issue orders from their air conditioned offices, with no regard to the situation on the ground. If they insist on rushing this project, the DOTr and TRB will be blamed for the inconvenience suffered by the public… including an epidemic of COVID-19 cases among registrants. For instance, UP Prof. Clarita Carlos related on Facebook her personal experience at the exit at CALAX as she queued for an RFID.
The agent told her she was lucky because there was just one form left. It was still early so Prof. Carlos asked why? She was told they were only given 50 forms that morning. If at least one operator is running out of forms, what about RFID stickers? I am told by a frequent NLEX and SCTEX user that the number of installation stations have been reduced from 32 to 13 because of lack of supply of RFID stickers. They also limited the installation period to normal working hours from 24/7. There had also been an increased number of glitches brought about by the increased transactions requiring flawless backroom operations. There are about two million vehicles in NCR and Region 4A, or areas south and east of Metro Manila, considered part of Mega Manila. Add to that Bulacan and Pampanga, which are considered part of Mega Manila. We have a universe of over two million vehicles that must be fitted with RFID, twice. Not everyone uses the expressways regularly, but tollways operators must be ready to register about a million vehicles. It is good management to plan for it. If it happens, you are ready. If it doesn’t, then you are good. Given that we Pinoys have a habit of beating a deadline, the crowding will be a royal mess that will efficiently spread COVID-19.
That will negate the objective of DOTr to go cashless to beat the virus. It was wrong for the DOTr to simply reject the suggestion of Valenzuela City Rep. Wes Gatchalian to defer the implementation of cashless toll payments until the RFID systems of the two toll operators become interoperable. Why burden motorists of having to register twice? The congressman is correct to say “the move should have been carefully planned and coordinated by the two toll operators to ease the burden of consumers to apply for and load up two different RFID cards.”
DOTr and TRB must first make absolutely sure the computers and backroom operations are running smoothly before requiring a tsunami of vehicles to register. The toll collection system of the two operators must be synchronized. The sequence of TRB is wrong, as Rep. Gatchalian pointed out. I want to share excerpts from emails I received on the issue: From E. Lampa: “Sadly the toll road operators were flooded with RFID registrants. Based on my personal experience, I can say that the toll road operators were not equipped or ready to process the volume of applications they received. “I would like to add that the TRB must look into the fees paid by motorists when they load up. With SLEX, when one loads up at a Petron station a P10 fee is collected. Using a bank to load up, the bank charges P25. “I would not complain about a fee of P10 or P25 every month. But what about the poor jeepney or taxi drivers? Expectedly, these drivers are loading up frequently. I don’t think they have the cash to load up infrequently to save on the fee. “The fee must be absorbed by the toll operators. After all they get to collect cash (prepaid) way ahead of the actual use of the load...” Actually, the toll operators get hundreds of millions of pesos on the prepayment every time a motorist loads up the RFID accounts. I wonder if TRB considers this free float in computing toll rates. Joey E: “On another matter, would imposing a completely cashless payment system go against the law on legal tender? The law on legal tender says: a debtor can compel the creditor to accept payment using money which is legal tender in the Philippines. “The word used is ‘compel,’ so the creditor cannot refuse to accept the payment… “So as not to violate the law on legal tender, the tollway operators should leave at least one cash payment booth at every exit. “The government is even threatening to issue a traffic violation ticket for motorists who use the tollways and are not RFID subscribers. I wonder what traffic rule is violated if the motorist is paying with money which is legal tender?”
EdwinT: I totally agree that the toll operators are not ready for the full implementation of their RFIDs. Their computer system will surely crash when all vehicles will pass through their toll booths on Dec. 1. “I also noticed that there is still a toll barrier at the RFID booths… I have seen vehicles in Dubai that simply pass through Stheir toll booths at a speed of 60 kph… “Most likely the technologies used by our toll operators are slow sensors and already Jurassic.” M. Carpo: FasTrak (California) even allows vehicles without RFID. The high-speed cameras can record who uses the toll roads, but without the RFID, you have to pay higher. The shift to RFID should be an opportunity for the government to enforce the no plate policy…” So many things to consider that makes rushing implementation a bad idea. I hope DOTr, TRB and the toll operators are up to the challenge of minimizing public inconvenience through better planning and execution.
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Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco