It’s back to cash in Valenzuela City toll plazas.
Expecting more traffic surge during the Christmas holidays, NLEX Corporation reopened cash lanes in all toll plazas of its expressway network, the operator declared in a statement issued yesterday.
The operator also presented solutions to improve local traffic conditions in Valenzuela City to Mayor Rex Gatchalian.
These include reducing toll plaza congestion, managing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) sticker issues and responding to motorists’ reloading requests.
Among the immediate operational traffic solutions agreed on include the transfer of RFID sticker installation and account reloading transactions away from the toll gates.
For current RFID customers, NLEX committed to add new RFID toll lanes in both Karuhatan and Mindanao toll plazas.
This will allow existing current RFID users to have better access to the RFID lanes and improve travel time.
To service motorists still in need of RFID stickers, the installation site at Karuhatan toll plaza will be relocated to the Santolan overpass area inside the expressway.
Meanwhile, the installation site in Mindanao toll plaza will also be relocated about 500 meters inside the expressway near the Que Grande overpass area.
Motorists’ requests for accounts reloading will be entertained after the toll gates and will be transacted after entry.
In response to customer complaints regarding their RFID stickers, NLEX Corp. vowed to accelerate the ongoing sticker replacement program and will boost the implementation via a targeted SMS text blast to reach out to customers.
NLEX Corp. also thanked Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian for allowing them to present concrete solutions to improve local traffic conditions.
To address potential traffic queuing at the toll gates during rush hours, NLEX also offered to implement “barrier up” operations in all Valenzuela City toll gates.
Gatchalian had earlier said removing toll barriers outside rush hour would improve the flow of traffic.
“There can be no gray area, it’s either we’re barrier-less, barriers up, or barriers down,” the local chief executive said during a meeting with NLEX Corp. officials Monday.
“Pag rush hour pwede, bakit perpetually hindi pwede barriers up? (During rush hour, it’s possible, why not implement the barriers up perpetually?)” he added.
Gatchalian maintained the LGU will only lift the business permit suspension if NLEX agrees to remove all barriers in toll plazas.
In response, NLEX president and general manager J. Luigi Bautista said the company will have to study the implementation first.
“Yung (the) barriers up, that’s where we are headed,” Bautista added. (With a report from Gabriela Baron)