NLEX traffic remains heavy, Gatchalian laments amid NLEX toll hike
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday, June 23 urged the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) and the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) management to address the bottlenecks along the expressway.
A week since the toll increase in the NLEX took effect, Gatchalian said regular users of the toll road still complain of the deteriorating traffic situation along the expressway, particularly during peak hours due to the high volume of vehicles.
Gatchalian said the TRB should have compelled the operator of NLEX to first address the bottlenecks along the toll road before approving an increase in toll rates.
“Instead of giving the go signal for a fresh round of toll rate hikes, the TRB should have obligated NLEX Corporation to manage growing concerns about choke points along the toll road. It should have first measured the performance of the expressway,” Gatchalian said.
“The reason our commuting public takes the NLEX is that they want to get to their destination as soon as possible. If this objective is not achieved because they are stuck in traffic, then NLEX is not serving its purpose very well and the TRB shouldn’t have allowed a toll rate increase,” the senator stressed.
He also said the perennial failure of NLEX Corporation’s electronic toll collection system to work properly and consistently has also been a source of traffic congestion along toll booths.
Gatchalian said NLEX should also ensure regular maintenance of the toll road to ensure the safety and comfort of toll road users.
He also said the government should anticipate the traffic situation along NLEX to worsen in the event the new international airport currently being constructed in Bulacan will start operations by 2027.
Based on TRB’s Consolidated Resolution of TRB Case Nos. 2018-02 and 2020-07, the implementation of the toll increase will be on a staggered basis in 2023 and 2024. This means, aside from this year’s toll increase, toll road users should expect an additional increase in toll next year, Gatchalian said.