Villafuerte wants TRB to penalize tollway operators
For defective RFID stickers that cause expressway traffic jams
CAMARINES Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte has welcomed the last-minute move by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to put off the imposition of penalties against expressway motorists whose vehicles have no radio frequency identification (RFID) tags or with RFID devices that have zero or insufficient loads when passing through the highways.
Villafuerte, National Unity Party (NUP) president, said that in lieu of just a month-long postponement of the new rules on RFID violations, as ordered by DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista, “the DOTr would do well to keep the planned fines in the freezer until such time that the tollway operators are able to fix their electronic toll collection (ETC) systems to put an end to defective or unreadable RFID stickers that inconvenience travelers and lead to long vehicle queues at expressway toll plazas.”
“Before the Secretary’s suspension order, the TRB was raring to penalize motorists whose vehicles have no RFID stickers or whose ETC devices have zero or insufficient loads,” Villafuerte stressed, “but what appropriate punitive action, if any, has the TRB taken or plans to impose against tollway operators for keeping devices that cannot read their own stickers or the actual RFID loads?”
“While it is true that motorists whose vehicles have no RFIDs or whose stickers have zero or insufficient balances lead to long queues at the toll plazas, another—and bigger—problem likewise responsible for traffic congestion on these tollways is the nagging complaint by travelers about RFID stickers that are defective or unreadable, forcing travelers to retrieve and present their toll account e-cards before the staffers manning the expressway booths,” Villafuerte said.
The time it takes for travelers to present their toll e-cards to booth operators for the latter to do a manual reading of their RFID stickers leads to long queues, especially during peak periods like weekends or holidays, causing traffic jams on the expressways, he said.
“Hence, I am appealing to the DOTr, TRB and LTO (Land Transportation Office) to suspend indefinitely their planned imposition of penalties against errant motorists whose vehicles have no RFIDs or whose ETC stickers have insufficient or zero loads, until toll operators are able to fix the problem of unreadable or defective RFID stickers,” he said.
“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 added.
The TRB was supposed to implement beginning last Aug. 31 the penalties against motorists who pass through the expressways without RFID devices or with stickers having zero or insufficient load balances.
Under Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 2024-001 signed last Aug. 1 by Bautista with TRB Executive Director Alvin Carullo and LTO chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II, motorists whose vehicles have no ETC devices on the headlights or windshields were to be fined P500 for the first violation; P1,000 for the second infraction; and P5,000 for the third and subsequent offenses, beginning Aug. 31.
Under JMC 2024-001, motorists whose vehicles have RFID tags but who are found leaving the toll roads with insufficient RFID loads were to be fined P500 for the first offense; P1,000 for the second one; and P2,500 for the third and succeeding violations.
Penalties under JMC 2-24-001 were also set for motorists found using fake or tampered RFID devices.
Such RFID-related violations are meant, according to the TRB, “to achieve a smoother and faster flow of traffic at the toll plazas, thereby saving time, money and resources.”
The TRB said that such erring travelers account for 9% of all motorists using expressways, “causing the unnecessary delays and long queues at the toll plazas.”
However, Villafuerte said that while this may be true, another problem that the TRB appears to have ignored is that the unnecessary delays and long queues at the toll plazas are also caused by the defective RFID devices of the tollway operators.
There have been numerous complaints from among the RFID-compliant motorists about their unreadable ETC stickers that compel the toll booth staffers to do a manual reading of their e-cards, hence inconveniencing them and leading to long queues, he added.
San Miguel Corp. (SMC) operates the Skyway Stage 3, Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway (NAIAX), South Luzon Expressway (SLEx), Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX), Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) and Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway (TPLEx); while Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) runs the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) and Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX).
In a separate development, Villafuerte said earlier that the LTO is tasked to deputize local government units (LGUs) and relevant government agencies to assist in enforcing traffic rules covering motorcycles-for-hire, under a measure recently passed by the House of Representatives to legalize as public utility vehicles (PUVs) these two-wheeled taxis.
“To ensure the safe operation of bikes-for-hire, the LTO shall deputize LGUs and relevant agencies to help enforce traffic regulations for these hired motorcycles and ensure the compliance of the drivers of these two-wheeled taxis with rules on carrying capacity and speed limits, under the recently passed measure in the House of Representatives that aims to legalize these bikes-for-hire, said Villafuerte, a co-author of the approved House Bill (HB) No. 10424.
“The goal of legalizing motorcycle taxis is clear: to provide an option for transporting people and helping commuters get to where they need to be—with an assurance that these bikes are safe for commuters to take and ride around,” he said.
He said that HB 10424 mandates the LTO to establish a centralized database to ensure the accurate recording of violations and road crashes involving motorcycles-for-hire, for the purpose of applying the penalties as well as other sanctions under this Act.
The LTO is further directed to publish quarterly and annual reports of such data on its website which shall be accessible to the public, he said.
Villafuerte said this House-approved bill tasks the deputized LGU enforcers and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) personnel along with LTO enforcement enforcers to report all violations pertaining to the rules governing motorcycle taxi platform providers (MTPPs) or online e-commerce platform providers (OEPPs) to a central database to be put up by the LTO to ensure the accurate listing of all infractions for the application of penalties and other sanctions against violators.
“Based on this would-be centralized database, the LTO is mandated under the measure to publish quarterly and annual reports of such data on its website that shall be accessible to the public, said Villafuerte, who had introduced HB 307 that was among the measures consolidated into the approved HB 10424.
HB 10424, or the “Motorcycles-for-Hire Act,” was approved recently on third and final reading by the chamber by a 200-1 vote.
Villafuerte said that to ensure the safety of passengers, the first order of business for the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is to require MTPPs to obtain insurance coverage for both their drivers and passengers, as well as insurance to cover third-party liabilities.
The CamSur congressman said he agreed with the view of Speaker Martin Romualdez that “motorcycles-for-hire not just serve as a safe and economical mode of mass public transportation but also as a viable source of livelihood for Filipinos.”
Motorcycles-for-Hire operating under MTPPs or OEPPs shall be regulated by the LTFRB in accordance with its mandate to issue Certificates of Public Convenience (CPCs), subject to compliance with the requirements provided under the applicable provisions of this Act.
In areas without operating MTPPs or OEPPs, the LTFRB is empowered under the bill to regulate the operations of motorcycles-for-hire, and the number of routes or taxi bikes that may be allowed to operate shall be determined in accordance with the Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) as recommended by the concerned LGUs.
Also, the bill directs the LTFRB to provide uniform guidelines as to the standards of operation of motorcycle taxis in consultation with the LGUs and stakeholders.