GOODBYE TOLL BOOTHS Luzon expressways going barrier-less by 2026

THE Philippines is gearing up for a smoother and faster driving experience with the planned implementation of barrier-less toll booths in all Luzon expressways by 2026, according to the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB).

Alvin Carullo, executive director of TRB, said the Barrier-less Tollway Project is the third of the technologydriven projects to be implemented by the agency.

“For this project, alongside the advancement of technology being utilized, a regulatory regime visà-vis updating of existing policies in road transportation shall by duly formulated. This is to shape up the toll road user’s behavior to become a responsible RFID/ETC subscriber,” Carullo said.

“Once policies are in place, it can be assured that there will be no, or at least minimal, toll evasion scenarios,” he said.

Carullo said that for the Tollway Operators and Concessionaires’ readiness, this is not a one-shot deal.

He said the program is designed to be implemented in phases to provide smooth transition of policies and technology and avoid motorists’ birth pains.

“Phase 1 is scheduled to be implemented in November 2024. In this Phase, only the Toll Barrier at the Entry will be removed, and all the exit lanes will still maintain barriers,” Carullo said.

“The succeeding phases wherein all the exit barriers will be removed is initially scheduled in 2025 to 2026,” he said.

No more stopping

According to Carullo, the benefit of having a barrier-less toll road is that there will be no more stopping at tollgates, thereby improving the flow of traffic, eliminating choke points and bottlenecks and increasing the throughput of tollways.

With the electronic toll collection/ radio frequency identification at present, the system can transact one vehicle passage within five seconds. That is equivalent to 900 vehicles per hour.

Once the barrier less is implemented, Carullo said these toll lanes will be almost free flowing, and the stop- and-go motion will be eliminated. Thus, it will significantly increase the throughput per toll lane.

The TRB chief said, however, the agency is carefully looking into the possible impact of the barrier-less project to the toll rates.

“It is worth noting that implementing a more advanced technology will mean putting additional capital expenditure and the Tollway Concessionaires/Operators may propose a recovery mechanism for the said undertaking,” Carullo said.

“In this case, the TRB, being the regulatory agency for toll roads, will have to review all these costs and shall ensure that whatever recovery mechanism will be proposed, the interests of all stakeholders should be protected, particularly the motoring public,” he said.

Challenges

Carullo said the potential challenge of transitioning into a barrier-less toll system is mostly focused on the driver’s behavior, particularly on becoming a responsible account holder vis-à-vis the enforcement.

“Since there will be no more barriers, every toll lane will be free flowing, in this case, if there is an errant motorist who intends to use the toll road with insufficient load, with no load, or worst case, without RFID, they can do so,” he said.

“The DOTr [Department of Transportation], LTO [Land Transportation Office] and TRB have already seen these possible scenarios and shall devise measures to minimize such occurrence,” Carullo said.

He said the government in coordination with the tollway concessionaires/operators, would devise a mechanism to apprehend errant motorists through the use of Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR).

“The LTO will play a significant participation in this endeavor since they are the authority in plate issuance, vehicle registration, as well as the enforcement of R.A. No. 4136,” Carullo said.

Republic Act No. 4136, or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, serves as the manual for anything that to do with traffic management, road safety and land transport in general.