Pagpapatupad ng cashless toll payment system, hindi na dapat ipagpaliban – DOTr
Inihayag ng Department of Transportation (DOTr) na hindi na dapat ipagpaliban pa ang pagpapatupad ng cashless toll payment system.
Sa inilabas na pahayag, sinabi ng kagawaran na mandato nilang protektahan ang kalusugan at kaligtasan ng public transport passengers at stakeholders.
“Long overdue” na anila ang implementasyon ng contactless toll payment scheme alinsunod sa inter-agency campaign ng gobyerno laban sa pagkalat ng COVID-19.
Sinabi ng DOTr na isa sa layunin ng Department Order No. (DO) 2020-012 na nag-oobliga sa cashless o contacless transaction sa lahat ng sasakyan sa expressways ay upang maiwasan ang COVID-19 transmission.
“Interoperability will merely provide added convenience to motorists who no longer need to install two (2) RFID tags. Thus, implementation of the cashless program should not wait for interoperability of the toll systems,” pahayag nito.
Ang anumang pagkaantala sa implementasyo nito sa gitna ng COVID-19 pandemic ay magiging rason lamang sa pagkakaroon ng exposure sa sakit hindi lamang ng mga motorista, kundi maging ang mga tauhan sa toll plazas.
“With the issue of interoperability aside, the extension of the deadline for the implementation of cashless toll collections on toll roads to December 1 will provide motorists using the expressways ample time to have their vehicles equipped with the needed RFID stickers from the toll operators,” ayon sa DOTr.
Matatandaang noong November 2, 2020 ang orihinal na pagsisimula dapat ng implementasyon ng naturang sistema.
Libre ang RFID tags at kailangan lamang lagyan ng load ng mga motorista.
Sa isyu ng limitadong RFID installation sites, sinabi ng kagawaran na hindi solusyon ang pag-antala ng cashless program kundi dagdagan ng toll operators ang installation booths at manpower.
“But, more than the urgent need to impose a contactless and cashless toll collection because of the COVID-19 threat, please note that the shift to a cashless toll collection is actually part of a bigger DOTr project— the Toll Interoperability Project, which we have been pushing since 2017,” dagdag pa nito.
Sa ngayon, patuloy ang DOTr, sa pamamagitan ng Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), na nakikipag-ugnayan sa mga private toll operator para maresolba ang mga problema, magsagawa ng kinakailangang operational measures, at maghatid ng solusyon para sa interoperability project.
“Starting the cashless program now and the interoperability soon thereafter, will make everyone ready, if and when House Bill 6119 becomes a law. At that time, glitches and issues would have already been identified to allow for smoother transition,” ayon sa DOTr.
“Amid a raging pandemic, public health and safety cannot take the back seat in favor of convenience,” dagdag pa nito.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.