Senator Raffy Tulfo on Thursday called on the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) to fix the faulty RFID (radio frequency identification) system which causes traffic gridlock in several expressways.
Tulfo, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Services. cited complaints on the long-standing problem of faulty RFID system, resulting to long queues of vehicles at exit and entry points of expressways.
He said at present, numerous RFID tags were not being read by the scanners due to malfunction or incorrect tag placement.
As a result, the barriers in tollway entry points do not rise, leading to vehicle congestion.
To address these issues, Tulfo proposed to TRB executive director Alvin Carullo, that once the RFID reader starts to malfunction with at least three vehicles lined up, toll expressway operators must manually lift barriers He also recommended that in this case. tolls should be free of charge until the issue is resolved.
The senator also urged the TRB to start implementing barrier-less system in the country’s expressways.
Carullo promised to discuss this with the TRB board for immediate action.
Adding burden to the riding public, Tulfo noted instances when motorists were unable to pass through tollway barriers due to a supposed zero balance.
Motorists would then be forced to reload despite still having enough funds in the RIFD.
However, after loading, they still need to wait 48 hours or more for operators to refund the balance that did not reflect in their account.
To rectify the problem, Tulfo urged the TRB to impose hefty fines and penalty against toll operators every time they commit a violation and cause inconvenience to the motorists.
He added that operators must be required to refund them within 24 hours.
He likewise said the TRB must solve the recurring RFID issues by October 2024 deadline as Carullo had promised him.
He stressed that motorists are paying expensive fees to save time and avoid any hassles, not the other way around.
Tulfo filed Senate Resolution No. 1060 last July 2 seeking inquiry on the TRB’s and toll operators’ lapses and hold them accountable for the problems they have created. Tulfo is set to conduct a hearing on the issue when Congress resumes sessions.