Easytrip Services Corp., the electronic toll collection system integrator of Pangilinan-owned expressways, expects to onboard more motorists in the coming year as users become more accustomed
to paying toll fees via radio frequency identification (RFID).
Jack Coson, president of the Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) unit, told reporters last week they were projecting 4 million Easytrip RFID users next year.
This is more than the 3.3 million users estimated by year-end and 2.9 million users in 2022.
He said motorists were now more aware of using contactless toll collection for smoother traffic in expressways.
“We’ve started doing contactless in some of the toll plazas.
You can actually see the faster movement of vehicles because of that,” he explained.
“What we would like to achieve is actually higher penetration rate in our expressways, [meaning] those using cash will be [fewer] compared to those using electronic tolling,” he added.
On Sept. 1, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) started the dry run for cashless collection program to improve motorist experience on expressways.
Glitches
The DOTr first issued an order in 2020 requiring cashless or contactless transactions via RFID stickers as it sought to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19. Due to complaints arising from glitches in the electronic toll collection system, however, the department issued an addendum requiring cash lanes in all toll plazas to allow vehicles with no RFID stickers to pass through.
Coson said they were also banking on increasing car sales to grow customer base via a tie-up with car dealers. Upon purchase, an RFID sticker will already be available to the owner.
Data from Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association showed car sales in January to November reached 390,654 units, up 23.9 percent from the same period last year. The sector projects to sell a total of 423,000 vehicles by the end of the year. —TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD