Clark, Pampanga—The Department of Transportation (DOTr) lauds efforts of private sector partners to make travel experience of motorists more seamless and convenient.
Following the launch of the “Digital Tollways” program of the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) yesterday, the DOTr said that giving motorists more payment options will bring about a new level of convenience, and generally improve the services of toll systems.
DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade said that digitizing payment schemes is seen as a step closer to the DOTr’s goal to ultimately make all toll systems in the country interoperable.
“This goes to show that we can do so much with technology. We want to unify all toll systems so that motorists only have to pay once and will not have to queue at toll plazas several times. If you want to go to Baguio, for example, you pay only when you exit at your destination and that’s it. It’s simpler, it’s faster, and more convenient,” said Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade. “We are grateful to the private sector for the support they have been giving us,” he added.
The Digital Tollways program of the MPTC, the tollways arm of the Metro Pacific Investments Corp., allows motorists using the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX), and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) to pay toll via different electronic options. Depending on what suits their lifestyle and personal preferences, motorists can pay via Easy Trip Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Mastercard and Visa contactless debit cards, beep cards, pre-paid cards and credit cards, including the Smart Mastercard powered by PayMaya.
Beep cards may also be used at railway systems in Metro Manila and P2P premium bus services.
The initiative to digitize toll payments is aligned with the National Retail Payment System program of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, which seeks to shift 20% of the country’s payment transactions to electronic by 2020, as the Philippines moves toward boosting its place in the region’s digital global economy.
