TRB starts dry run of RFID-only toll collection, cash lanes still available

Today September 1, 2023, officially marks the start of the two-month dry-run of the cashless toll collection. That means expressway concessionaires (SMC Tollways and NLEX Corporation) will collect toll fees via AutoSweep and EasyTrip RFID stickers.

Originally, there were supposed to be plenty of toll plazas that would participate in the said dry run. In fact, all toll plazas along NLEX, SCTEX, and CALAX were supposed to collect toll feels via RFID only. Meanwhile, SMC Tollways announced that most of its toll plazas will participate and are ready to make the switch to RFID-only toll collection upon the approval of regulators and the government.

However, the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) recently released an amended advisory regarding the dry-run for contactless toll collection. In order to conduct a smooth and efficient implementation of the dry-run, the TRB announced that the cashless collection of tolls will be done in batches. As a result, the first batch of toll plazas will only consist of the following seen above.

More importantly, there will still be cash lanes along the expressways which means those without RFID stickers can still use the tollways. However, motorists are encouraged to switch to RFID for a faster and more convenient journey. In addition, on participating toll plazas, motorists with no RFID stickers shall be directed to a safe place or location where they can pay the toll fees in cash and shall be persuaded to have an RFID sticker installed.

If you're heading out today and you don't have an RFID sticker yet, you will still be able to pay in cash. However, you can now also get an RFID sticker at participating toll plazas.