The City Government of Valenzuela opens a solutions meeting and dialogue with North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Corporation today, December 14, to seek for long term solutions to the corporation’s cashless tollway collection using the RFID system.

Last December 07, Valenzuela City has suspended the business permit of NLEX Corporation after it failed to lay out its concrete solutions and action plan following the heavy traffic condition in Valenzuela City because of its “faulty” RFID system.  

The local government reasons out its suspension premises as disregard of general welfare, public safety, and consumer rights after calls for improvement of the RFID system were made publicly by Valenzuela City Mayor REX Gatchalian.

The business permit suspension has resulted to a toll holiday in six (6) NLEX toll plazas in the City namely, Karuhatan-Mindanao Avenue Toll Plaza, Karuhatan-Harbor Link Toll Plaza, Karuhatan-MacArthur Highway Sub-Exit, Mindanao Avenue Toll Plaza, Paso de Blas Toll Plaza, and Lawang Bato Toll Booth.

In today’s dialogue, NLEX Corporation, led by President and General Manager J. Luigi Bautista, presents its plans on decongesting toll plazas in Valenzuela City, addressing RFID sticker issues and reloading challenges. The corporation will be reopening cash lanes, deploy RFID assistants, implement an intensive RFID replacement program and communication campaign.

NLEX has also opened its plan for the future implementation of a selective and timed “Barriers Up” scheme for RFID lanes during heavy traffic situations.

In its proposal, Valenzuela City presents the immediate, “traffic-free” effects of the toll holiday while toll barriers are up in the City’s NLEX toll plazas. Mayor REX Gatchalian also presents different proof of concepts around the world, citing “Malaysia, which is in South East Asia, which is similarly situated almost economically to the Philippines, eh wala silang (they don’t have a) [toll] barrier... Does the Malaysian driving public deserve better than the Filipino driving public? And I dare say this, of course not. What they have, we should have in the Philippines.”

With this, Mayor REX strongly proposes the #BarriersUp concept in toll plazas, moving RFID sticker installation and loading/reloading inside the expressway after the toll plaza and system upgrades. 

The City Government of Valenzuela has likewise proposed its best practices including tapping into the expertise of the private sector (privatization), empowering enforcement through technology investment, and the no contact apprehension (NCAP) program -- proving that the plans that worked for the City are doable also for NLEX Corporation.

As NLEX has stated that it has an RFID readability rate of 98%, the local government pushes for a #BarriersUp solution -- a plan that is also supported by Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) General Manager Jojo Garcia.

“During barrier down, grabe ang traffic niyan hanggang Mindanao [Avenue] kaya pati si [Quezon City] Mayor Joy Belmonte nag-react... I-barrier up niyo muna… Kung ilan lang yung madaan na masingil, thank you. Eh yung hindi nadaanan dahil sira ang reader? Hindi kasalanan ng ibang motorista yon,” Garcia said.

“I think for Valenzuela alone, pwede na [barriers up] kung ganoon kaliit lang -- 2% eh. The data came from you [NLEX],” he added.

Mayor REX has further asked NLEX Corporation for its confidence in its RFID readability and the proposed barriers up scheme to be implemented in Valenzuela City. The local chief executive has also pushed for technology upgrade to solve the consumer rights issues of RFID fee collection and to finish the upgrade by January 2021 as a timeline to significantly reduce motorist complaints.

The City Government of Valenzuela, in its practice of the conditional lifting of business permit suspensions in the City, informs NLEX Corporation that if in case the local government receives a complaint on their services, the business permit will again be suspended.

NLEX Corporation has been given time to review the proposed solutions and other matters raised during the open meeting and will update the local government on the developments.

“I really believe NLEX can do it... It's up to you [NLEX] to show us your side of the story and if acceptable, we want to see deadlines and we want to make sure that na-implement na yon bago natin ma-lift itong suspension na ito,” Mayor REX stated.