CASHLESS TOLL PAYMENT IKINAKASA SA EXPRESSWAYS

NAGHAIN ng panukalang batas ang chairman ng House Committee on Trade and Industry na naglalayong gawing cashless ang pagbabayad ng toll fee sa lahat ng expressways, na maituturing aniyang kabahagi na rin ng ‘new normal’ sa bansa sa harap ng COVID-19 pandemic

Sa House Bill no. 6119, iminungkahi ni Valenzuela 1st District Rep. Wes Gatchalian na maipatupad ang ‘unified cashless collection system’ sa mga tollway bilang hakbang sa pagkontrol sa pagkalat ng coronavirus.

“With the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pande­mic, however, going cashless on toll collections has ta­ken a public health significance. Our expressways serve as gateways to different parts of the country,” ani Gatcha­lian.

Naniniwala si Gatchalian na sa pamamagitan ng cashless collection system ay mawawala na ang direct contact sa pagitan ng travellers at ng toll collectors, at makatutulong ito na maiwasan ang cross-border transmission ng coronavirus.

“In the absence of a cure or vaccine for COVID-19, and with the still increasing number of confirmed infections in the country, we must continue finding ways to help contain the spread of the virus and save more lives,” giit ng Valenzuela City lawmaker.

Sa ilalim ng HB 6119, inaatasan ang lahat ng toll collection facilities o mga operator ng toll expressway na gumamit ng teknolohiya at business practices upang magkaroon sila ng interoperability electronic toll collection (ETC) programs sa kani-kanilang expressway.

Ang Department of Transportation (DOTR), sa pakikipagtulungan sa Department of Science and Techno­logy (DOST), ay binibigyan naman ng responsibilidad na gumawa ng multi-protocol radio frequency identification (RFID) tag kasabay na rin ng pagbuo ng National Electronic Toll Collection System (NETCS).     ROMER BUTUYAN