Maintain RFID fund to avoid toll delays

Motorists using the Skyway and NAIA Expressway must ensure their Autosweep RFIDs are sufficiently funded to avoid traffic delays as inadequate or zero balance in RFID accounts contributed significantly to congestion, affecting 31,712 transactions or 15% of the total during that period during May 1-7 alone.

SMC Infrastructure said this will reduce queue times at toll plazas. “We apologize for any inconvenience and are committed to improving traffic conditions. Maintaining sufficient funds in RFID accounts is crucial for smooth operations at toll plazas,” SMC Infrastructure said.

Currently, the Toll Regulatory Board’s (TRB) standing order is to defer penalties for motorists with insufficient funds or those who have not transitioned to the electronic toll collection system and continue to pay in cash. Despite a high adoption rate of 97% for electronic toll collection, cash payments still slow down the processing times at toll plazas.

“While we continue to encourage our users to ensure they have sufficient balance or register their vehicles to Autosweep, many still do not fully utilize the system. Unfortunately, this has a significant impact on other motorists, especially when combined with other factors such as the limited carrying capacity of expressways and higher vehicle volumes during peak hours,” the company added. Theread rate for its RFID system is 99% when stickers are properly functioning. But this efficiency can be compromised by defective stickers due to wear, tear, or dirt.

During periods of extreme congestion, SMC Infrastructure raises toll barriers when queues exceed 500 meters, allowing free flow of traffic while continuing to record transactions for subsequent billing. It also plans to widen roads and add more toll gates to accommodate increasing traffic volumes and enhance overall traffic management and is conducting a dry run for an automatic license plate recognition system to operate alongside the existing Electronic Toll Collection (system. This integration aims to streamline toll processing and further reduce congestion.