24/7 RFID Stickering in Toll Lanes Set December 1 To January 11

 Expressway operators will implement round-the-clock installation of radio frequency identification (RFID) in all toll lanes from December 1 to January 11, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said.

"Ang sabi nga po ng ating toll operators, simula December 1 hanggang January 11, magiging 24/7 po yung kabitan ng RFID sa lahat ng toll lanes o mga booths malapit sa mga toll gates (As our toll operators said, from December 1 to January 11, the RFID installation in all toll lanes or booths near toll gates will be made 24/7)," DOTr Assistant Secretary Goddess Hope Libiran in a virtual presser.

Libiran said the toll operators also committed to converting all toll lanes into RFID stickering lanes 'if needed' until January 11 to accommodate more vehicles with no RFID stickers.

"Ibig sabihin, kung ikaw po ay isang motorista na wala ka pang RFID, dumaan ka sa toll gate at saan ka man pumila, kakabitan pa rin ang sasakyan mo ng RFID sticker (Meaning, if you’re a motorist without an RFID, just pass to any toll gate and RFID sticker will be installed on your vehicles)," Libiran said.

She said vehicles with no RFID will not be apprehended or issued citation tickets within the period.

Beyond January 11, she said toll operators will designate one or two lanes in every expressway entrance as sticker lanes, noting that motorists without RFID stickers who try to enter RFID lanes will be issued a citation ticket by this time.

"Maaari lang po silang maticketan kung sila po ay pipila sa mga RFID-only lane, lalo na kung sila ay magdudulot ng aberya o ng abala sa mga sasakyang nasa likuran nila (They will only be issued a ticket if they will attempt to enter an RFID-only lane, especially if they cause a delay or trouble to other motorists)," Libiran said.

DOTr Assistant Secretary Steve Pastor assured that these sticker lanes will remain indefinitely in all expressways to accommodate newly purchased vehicles or motorists who rarely use expressways.

"Before entering the toll plaza naman ho, makikita ninyo yung mga stickering lanes po natin for RFID, so dun lang po niyo yun ipapakabit. We assure you po na tuloy-tuloy po ang pagkakabit ng RFID stickers (Before entering a toll plaza, you’ll see RFID stickering lanes, that’s where you’ll have these installed. We assure you that installing RFIDs will continue)," Pastor said.

Using AutoSweep RFID on EasyTrip expressways

Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) Executive Director Abraham Sales said motorists with an existing AutoSweep RFID sticker will be able to pass through EasyTrip expressways without an additional sticker through an additional enrollment process.

This, he said, is part of the TRB's interoperability project between the AutoSweep and EasyTrip RFID systems that is currently in its first stage.

"Yung stage one, nangyayari na po yun. Kung meron na po silang AutoSweep RFID, pwede po nilang i-enroll sa EasyTrip para hindi na po need magpakabit ng second RFID (The first stage, it’s already underway. If they have an AutoSweep RFID, they can be enrolled with EasyTrip so they don’t have to be installed with a second RFID sticker)," Sales said.

The second stage, he said, would allow those with EasyTrip RFID stickers to pass through AutoSweep expressways after an additional enrollment process.

The third and final stage of the interoperability project, he said, would allow for a single RFID sticker and account to work on both RFID systems, noting that the TRB is still in talks with representatives of the two RFID systems.