The tollway unit of Metro Pacific Investment Corp. and San Miguel Corp. and Ayala Corp are expected sign a deal this year to integrate their toll collection system in compliance with government order to ease traffic congestion.
Rodrigo Franco, Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) president and chief executive said that the agreement to integrate their toll system with other toll operators is possible this year but the actual implementation would be next year .
“We are negotiating. It’s possible to come up an agreement this year, but I doubt the actual integration and inter-operation would be completed this year because it’s complicated,” Franco said .
The country’s largest toll operator MPTC operates the North Luzon Expressway and Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway, while Cavitex Holdings operates the Manila Cavite Expressway.
On the other hand, San Miguel Corp., owns the Skyway, South Luzon Expressway and Tarlac-Pangasinan La Union-Expressway.
While, Ayala Corp. operates the Muntinlupa Cavite Expressway.
The toll interoperability initiatives , came after Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade urged toll road operators to integrate their toll system to reduce travel time of motorists.
Tugade had said the electronic tolling interoperability was targetted to be signed by November this year . Meanwhile, MPTC unit Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC) has completed the NLEX and SCTEX integrations last March allowing motorists to save up to 40 minutes of travel time
The project, which involves the conversion of NLEX and SCTEX toll collection systems into a single system, reduces toll collection stops to two instead of five from Balintawak to Subic and back, instead of four from Balintawak to Tarlac and back.
29 August 2016
