Traffic of cancel

And now the good news: A new technology in toll collection, which is an electronic system using “stickers” embedded in the windshield or headlamp of vehicles, may also offer a more viable scheme to manage the horrendous traffic in Metro Manila.

From what I gathered, the giant conglomerate San Miguel is ready to introduce the new electronic toll collection system that it calls “radio frequency identification” (RFID) at the South Luzon Expressway, or what we simply know as SLEx. We all know that San Miguel, together with the Citra group of Indonesia, only about two years ago bought some 80 percent of SLEx. We also know that the conglomerate is building more tollways. These include the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx), which should extend the existing North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) all the way to Rosario town in La Union province, something that can cut the travel time between Manila and Baguio by at least half.

The conglomerate is also building the “skyway” extension or connector road, which aims to link SLEx and NLEx, thus acting as by-pass expressway to the highly congested Edsa and C-5, perhaps easing traffic in the entire metropolis.

In the pipeline for San Miguel are other toll road projects such as the skyway project to connect the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to the “Entertainment City” of the state corporation Pagcor, where you can find the Solaire Hotel, owned by the group of Enrique Razon of port operator ICTSI. There is also the North Luzon East Expressway project, which San Miguel proposed to build as a direct link between Quezon City and the Cagayan Valley, which has been regarded for the past couple decades now as the food basket of Metro Manila.

In all likelihood, from what I heard, San Miguel will also use its hi-tech toll collection system in those toll roads. After all, at least based on word in the IT business circles, San Miguel seems to have acquired the exclusive use of the technology in the Philippines. Actually, San Miguel partnered with a group in Turkey known as Vendeka, which is an information and communications technology (ICT) developer and manufacturer, actually specializing in electronic toll collection.

Under the new RFID, SLEx collects the toll from motorists through an electronic signaling system, something similar to the present E-pass system used at the SLEx. The thing is that, under the E-pass system, the motorist uses a gadget, which may nevertheless get damaged if you drop it, for example, or even through wear and tear.

In the Turkish technology called RFID, mere “stickers” are attached to a vehicle windshield or headlamp, thus lessening the chance of actual physical damage. Moreover, the “stickers” can be read at the tollgates even with the vehicles running at high speed. In other words, the new system can eliminate the “waiting” time at the tollgates, perhaps allowing for faster and smoother traffic flow. From what I heard, the cutting-edge system can reduce the “throughput” at the gates to only five seconds. At present, it takes an average 25 seconds to process one toll payment in cash, not to mention the long lines of vehicles piled up at the gates.

That is definitely good news to frequent users of the SLEx, who at times spend more time in traffic at the tollgate than they do traveling the whole stretch of the expressway. To top it, the new RFID system is much cheaper—for the motorists, that is—than the present E-pass system. In fact, it is so cheap that, from what I heard, the proponent San Miguel expects more motorists to use it. It is estimated that, at present, only 3 out of 10 users of SLEx use the E-pass system, and so you can understand the build-up of traffic at the tollgates. In comparison, because of its low cost factor, the RFID “sticker” system can be expected to penetrate up to 80 percent of the market, given a couple of years, plus a bit of marketing effort from the SLEx.

Perhaps San Miguel wants to time the launch of the new system with the start of some major infrastructure projects in and around Metro Manila, such as the light rail transit system in Cavite, or the “skyway” extension.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, should bring us to the point: The same system can be used to regulate the volume of vehicles in specific areas in the metropolis, such as the central business districts, under a scheme known in urban planning as “road congestion pricing.”

Really, in places like Singapore, you have to pay through your teeth to drive into the central business district at certain hours of the day, as the Singaporean government charges extra upon the registration of the vehicles. With the RFID, it is now possible for our beloved MMDA to implement a similar system, in which the motorist pays for the “privilege” to drive into certain areas at certain hours—you know, on a “per entry” basis.

Really, as far as solutions to our traffic problem, only technology can save us—not the almost 30-year old “number coding” scheme of our useless MMDA that, aside from it never having worked at all, only created more problems. Methinks that systems like the RFID can finally cancel the stupid coding scheme.

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