Motorist and workers’ groups called for transport officials to withdraw their memorandum on revised toll guidelines, which mandates a cashless toll payment system and penalizes drivers up to P5,000 for having insufficient balances or for using expressways without an electronic sticker.
Although the Department of Transportation (DOTr) postponed imposing fines on drivers until January 2025 after complaints about the faulty radio frequency identification (RFID) system resurfaced, workers group Defend Jobs Philippines said that the deferment is merely a band-aid solution and encouraged officials to fix the defective RFID system instead of imposing the policy.
“Bagama’t maganda sa teorya, maraming problema ang sistema ng RFID. Madalas tayong makarinig at makatanggap ng reklamo mula sa mga motorista ukol sa malfunction ng toll machines,” the group shared in a joint statement with transportation groups Laban TNVS and Manibela.
Faulty Tolls
Despite motorists struggling to cope with the RFID payment system, the DOTr continues to push for a cashless system, as cash lanes will also be removed following the RFID-only payment system, alarming infrequent users and those who opt to pay in cash.
Currently, only one cash lane is designated for each tollway, which often traps motorists in long queues, delaying the flow of traffic further.
On top of that, RFID users reported dysfunctional toll machines, including tollway readers failing to detect the stickers, forcing transactions to be processed manually at the toll gates.
“Marami pa rin ang gumagamit ng cash payment, nararapat na dagdagan ang mga linya para sa cash,” Defend Jobs Philippines Campaign Director Benj Cordero added. He also urged officials to assess the feasibility of adding other payment options, including GCash, Maya, and bank transfer—which are more accessible compared to the RFID payment system.
Motorists have also complained about the deficiencies and delays in receiving their RFID load. Without an option to withdraw their balance, some motorists said that their excess load remains idle or even disappears from their accounts.
While tollway operators have not issued direct statements on this issue, Cordero expressed skepticism, suggesting that toll operators might be benefiting from the unused funds in the RFID-only payment system.
Apart from tollway fees, operators also earn from the convenience fees charged for every RFID reload transaction, with a minimum reload amount of P500. Metro Pacific Tollway Corporation, the largest operator in the country, reported a revenue of P29 billion in 2023, which includes service fees collected from an estimated 3.3 million RFID users.
This revenue is only expected to rise with the push for 100-percent cashless toll transactions by the first month of 2025.
Excessive Fines
Motorists without a valid RFID or with insufficient load at toll gates will face fines, according to the new memorandum. First-time violators without a valid sticker will be fined P1,000, with penalties rising to P5,000 for repeat offenses. Motorists with low balances in their accounts will also face fines ranging from P500 for the first offense to P2,500 for subsequent violations.
Advocates have expressed concern regarding these unusually high penalties and urged the agency to improve toll collection first.
“Ang may kaya at may kakayahang magpakabit ng RFID lang ang makikinabang sa desisyong RFID lang ang makikinabang sa desisyong RFID-only system,” Cordero added.
In a briefing, DOTr justified that RFID violations often cause “unnecessary delays” in toll gates, but assured that the imposition of fines would be suspended until January 2025. The agency, however, clarified that the cashless system would still be implemented.
DOTr, along with other stakeholders, is researching possible points of improvement in the memorandum and assured that they would “not have second thoughts” about extending the postponement of the fines, Bautista said.
But without any communication from DOTr and operators, advocates continuously urge the agency to engage in dialogues and consultation with other members of the transportation sector to address the concerns.
“Dapat nating tiyakin na ang mga polisiya at sistema ay maglilingkod sa interes ng publiko at hindi magdadala ng dagdag na pasanin sa mga motorista,” Defend Jobs Philippines said. ●
