Skyway rates going sky high

NEXT WEEK as you head back to Metro Manila from your vacation or Lenten holiday, make sure you still have enough money to pay for the new toll fees.

This is because starting April 26, at 12:01 a.m. private motorists riding Class 1 vehicles (cars, SUVs and vans) using the Skyway from Alabang to Makati will have to pay a total of P147—an additional P62 from the flat rate of P85 that motorists currently pay for the entire length of the road.

These new toll fees are a result of a revised scheme wherein Alabang to Sucat (and vice versa) now costs P41, Sucat to Bicutan P41 and Bicutan to Makati P65.

These rates are doubled for drivers of Class 2 vehicles (light trucks and buses) and tripled for Class 3 vehicles (heavy trucks). This means delivery trucks and buses entering Alabang and exiting Makati will now have to pay P294 while those driving heavier cargo trucks and trailers will be charged P441.

Class 1 drivers using Skyway’s ground level from Alabang to Makati will now have to pay P106 since the sections of Alabang to Sucat will now cost P31, Sucat to Bicutan P31, and Magallanes to Bicutan P44.

Currently, the toll fee at this at-grade section stands at P65 (from Alabang to Makati), with Alabang to Sucat costing P17, Sucat to Bicutan P18 and Bicutan to Magallanes P30.

Motorists coming from the southern end of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) in Calamba, Laguna and exiting Alabang will now have to pay P82 for Class 1, P172 for Class 2 and P258 for Class 3 vehicles.

Motorists who find these new rates too high should take pleasure in the fact that these toll fees recently approved by the Toll Regulatory Board are lower by 13 percent than the ones proposed by Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corp., which operates the Skyway.