A driver approaching a toll gate on the Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) in Concepcion, Tarlac, was surprised when the barrier suddenly fell as they drove forward.
A Facebook user sent a motoring publication dashcam footage of a barrier that fell on his vehicle’s hood as they were about to pass the toll plaza in the area on September 12.
“Haay,” VISOR wrote as a caption with a facepalm emoji.
The video featured a car approaching the toll plaza.
It slowed down and then gained momentum when the RFID scanner finally turned green, indicating the driver to pass.
He was about to go forward when the barrier suddenly fell on his vehicle’s hood.
The driver honked and asked, “Ba’t bumaba?”
In the video, it can be heard that they were talking to someone.
The driver reasoned that the RFID scanner had turned green, signaling him to go forward.
The post has garnered 682,000 plays, 7,200 likes and reactions and 1,200 comments so far, with some Filipinos aired their frustrations over the failed RFID system.
“What if na-damage ‘yung hood mo dahil sa off timing pagbaba ng barrier, will they pay the damage?” a Facebook user commented.
“Red light when they approach, then nag-green light na kaya sila dumeretso, bakit biglang nag-red at bumamba [‘yung’ barrier? [May] mali sa toll plaza, it’s either late ang reading or talagang [nagloko] ‘yung system,” another Pinoy commented.
“Dapat penalty din toll operator ‘pag ganyan. Lakas mag-implement ng toll penalties, bulok [naman sistema] nila,” a different Facebook user wrote.
“Mabagal na scanner, palpak pa pati boom barrier. All lanes to be cashless? Ngek, hindi nga maresolbahan ang isang problems, dadagdagan pa ng dalawa,” another Pinoy commented.
“Dapat wala ng barrier, kaya nga nag-cashless para [automatic] ang pasok sa system ng deduction nung toll fee. That should only be sa mga cash lanes,” the online user continued.
The RFID system
The RFID, which stands for Radio Frequency Identification, is a system initially implemented in the Philippines in 2014 on the Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX).
It has since been implemented in different expressways in the country like the SCTEX, the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), and the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX), among others.
Under the system, drivers do not need to roll down their windows to pay the toll fee with cash. The RFID scanner installed at the toll plaza will only need to read the RFID sticker on the vehicle, usually placed on the headlights or windshields in private cars.
As a vehicle approaches the toll barrier, the RFID scanner reads data about its vehicle class and the corresponding amount needed to pay to pass the expressway. It will tell whether the vehicle has sufficient balance to enter the tollgate.
After the transaction, the barriers will open to let the vehicle pass.
The RFID sticker is also accompanied by an RFID account card, which can be surrendered at the toll plaza in case the sticker cannot be read. The attendant will then scan this in the booth.
Last month, the Toll Regulatory Board announced that vehicles without RFID stickers or having insufficient balance at the expressway toll gates would be penalized starting August 31
This was later deferred to October 31 amid concerns about the reliability of RFID stickers.
Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. (Camarines Sur, Second District) previously shared travelers’ “nagging” complaints of “defective and unreadable” RFID stickers.
“It does not seem fair for transport authorities to start zealously running after expressway motorists guilty of RFID violations that inconvenience their fellow travelers, while allowing the tollway operators to continue getting off scot-free with their defective stickers that are similarly responsible for the long queues and traffic jams on our toll roads,” he said before.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said that tollway operators have until October to “fine tune” expressway operations and “further intensify the public information campaign to enable tollway users to comply with the new guidelines.”
He maintained that the Department of Transportation stands by its policy for tollways to entirely shift to cashless transactions, believing that it will improve traffic flow on toll roads.
