MANILA —Motorists passing through Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX) will soon have to pay an additional P1 in toll fee, according to the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB).
TRB Executive Director Alvin Carullo told reporters last week the hike would take effect by the end of this month or first week of February.
Currently, toll fee for Class 1 vehicles is P18; Class 2, P37; and Class 3, P55.
MCX provides an alternative route to and from Metro Manila and Cavite. It seeks to decongest traffic in Cavite, Las Piñas and Muntinlupa.
Ayala Corp. used to operate the 4-kilometer toll road until it sold its stake to billionaire Manuel Villar Jr.’s Prime Asset Ventures for P3.8 billion. The sale was part of the Zobel-led conglomerate’s strategy of unloading noncore assets.
READ: Ayala sells MCX concession to Villar
TRB is now conducting a dry run for cashless toll collection and a test run for the implementation of single e-wallet use for motorists.
Carullo said they were targeting to fully roll out both programs by July.
READ: Gov’t eyes cashless toll payments by July
Implementing cashless or contactless transactions via RFID (radio frequency identification) stickers is seen as a solution to ease traffic as it would eliminate long queues in toll plazas.
The TRB noted e-payment penetration peaked at 88 percent to 90 percent, from 70 percent, since the dry run was implemented.
A single e-wallet, meanwhile, will allow motorists to use only one payment solution for all expressways owned by various operators.
Motorists passing through tollways owned by Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) use EasyTrip Services while San Miguel Corp.-owned expressways use Autosweep.
MPTC operates North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), NLEx Connector, Calax, Subic-Clark Tarlac Expressway and Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway. San Miguel, meanwhile, holds concessions for South Luzon Expressway, Skyway, Naia Expressway, Star Tollway and Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway.
When the single-wallet scheme is implemented, motorists will have to choose which wallet to keep. Carullo noted that using a single wallet would eliminate the need to reload two different platforms, making it easier for motorists to keep track of their balances and payments. INQ