With the easing of travel restrictions and 10-15 percent expected traffic surge for All Saints' Day (‘Undas’) holidays, Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) is stepping up its operations via its “Safe Trip Mo Sagot Ko” (SMSK) initiative along the NLEX, SCTEX, CAVITEX, C5 LINK, and CALAX, from October 29 to November 2, 2021.
SMSK, the MPTC's motorist assistance program, is now on its 12th year.
As early as October 22, MPTC operations teams have been boosting customer services and safety protocols to meet the influx of motorists visiting cemeteries, memorial parks, and columbaria before they close from October 29 to November 2 to curb COVID-19 transmission.
"We remain committed to provide motorists with ease of travel, ensure their safety and assist them immediately this season," announced MPTC President and CEO Rodrigo E. Franco.
With traffic volume increasing by 10% in NLEX-SCTEX, traffic management teams are extending their working hours to manage the traffic in Balintawak, Mindanao, Karuhatan, Bocaue, San Simon, San Fernando, Tarlac and Tipo.
MPTC is deploying 1,200 patrol crews, traffic marshals, security teams and lane personnel to ensure safety and provide immediate assistance to motorists.
They are also fielding emergency medical services and incident response teams at strategic areas of the expressways.
Due to the implementation of Alert Level 3 in the National Capital Region (NCR), Cavite, and Laguna, average daily traffic in CAVITEX, C5 LINK, and CALAX is expected to increase around 11% to 15%.
All Customer Service Centers in these expressways will be operational 24/7 and ambulant tellers will be ready to assist motorists in cash lanes, and toll personnel will be augmented to assist motorists in RFID lanes.
MPTC is suspending construction and lane closures along the mainline road of all its expressways from October 27 until November 2, unless safety repairs are necessary.
For those traveling with Class 1 or light vehicles, free 24-hour towing service to the nearest exit will be available from October 29, 6:00 A.M.
The company will post updated traffic situationers on its social media accounts, while the 24/7 Hotline (1-35000) will also be ready to address customer concerns.
To facilitate faster and safer travel, the tollway company is encouraging motorists to use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) as means of toll payment to avoid queues at the cash lanes.
Those who have no RFID may have the sticker installed before entering the expressways and just have to pay the initial load.
Existing RFID users should make sure that their accounts have sufficient balance to cover their trips.