The high growth of radio frequency identification (RFID) use combined with traffic management operations eased the usual surge of "Undas" holiday-goers throughout the NLEX-SCTEX, CAVITEX, C5 LINK, and CALAX system, the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) reported.

The expressways registered record traffic highs for a long Undas weekend. Vehicle entries at NLEX-SCTEX, particularly on Oct. 30, reached 432,180 while 202,133 transactions were tallied at CAVITEX, C5 LINK, and CALAX on Oct. 29.

Despite nearly reaching pre-pandemic holiday numbers of 435,000 entries at the NLEX-SCTEX and 193,590 entries at the CAVITEX and C5 LINK, MPTC recorded no significant vehicle queues at the toll plazas.

The average daily traffic for NLEX-SCTEX in October this year also rose to 355,000 from 318,000 in October 2020.

MPT South’s CALAX also hit an all-time high on Oct. 30 since its operation in October 2019, with 32,040 passages, mainly attributed to the increasing number of motorists heading towards tourist destinations in the south, such as Tagaytay.

"Compared to Undas season last year, we had shorter queues and smoother traffic flow because of the growing number of motorists shifting to RFID, and the enhancements that we have done with our system," explained MPTC President and CEO Rodrigo E. Franco.

“Previously, during traffic surges, we would need to deploy ambulant cash tellers but this time, our expressway users have now embraced the benefits of the RFID system and are actually avoiding having to pay in cash,” he noted.

The company's “Safe Trip Mo, Sagot Ko” program also helped.

The initiative deployed additional traffic patrol crews and emergency teams at strategic areas to attend to vehicle breakdowns and other minor incidents.

More personnel were fielded in major toll plazas to readily assist RFID subscribers with concerns on their accounts.

To manage holiday motorists without RFID accounts, several RFID lanes were manned by additional personnel to temporarily accept cash payments and prevent queues.

The tollway company noted that the increased visibility and prompt response of patrol crews were also significant in easing the traffic flow during this period as traffic incidents were swiftly cleared.

At NLEX-SCTEX, emergency teams attended to 787 requests for assistance with an average response time of nine minutes.

There were also 171 motorists who enjoyed free towing in all MPTC expressways.

“Driving between Balintawak and Tarlac/Tipo was a breeze despite the expected traffic surge," says NLEX Corporation President and GM J. Luigi L. Bautista.

"The high RFID use in our expressway network was instrumental in speeding up the transactions at the toll plazas,” he reiterated.

“At present, around 80% of our expressway users use RFID and we hope to further increase this figure," added MPT South President and GM Roberto V. Bontia.

MPTC has been adopting operational and system improvements to prevent congestion, especially at the toll plazas.

It has carried out enhancements in the RFID system to enable faster detection, installed more RFID card readers, relocated remaining cash lanes and intensified communications on the benefits of the RFID system.

“Our traffic volume continues to grow as the government lightens travel restrictions and the economy reopens," Franco pointed out.

"To keep up with the demand and ensure the quality of our service, we will fast-track our infrastructure and expressway enhancement projects, which in turn will help our country be on its way to economic recovery,” he concluded.