SMC will accept cash payments on toll roads until November 30, beyond the government deadline

MANILA, Philippines – Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) will allow motorists using its toll roads to continue paying cash until the end of November, or nearly a month after the government’s deadline for full electronic payments beginning on November 2 of this year.

The food, beverage and infrastructure conglomerate said in a statement on Friday (October 23) that “many motorists” still have to secure RFID tags before the deadline, even as all of its toll stations have been modernized to accept payments. cashless toll.

In a statement, SMC said it made the decision to continue accepting cash payments on its toll roads “after careful study and deliberation” and “in consideration of so many motorists” who have not yet acquired Autosweep RFID accounts “due to the volume of applications to have today “.

“This means that from November 2 to 30, vehicles without RFID will still be able to enter the highways,” said SMC. “Hopefully this will give motorists more time to get their RFID stickers,” he added.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has not yet announced any extension of the November 2 deadline, which was provided by Department Order 2020-12 issued on August 13.

According to the order, the Tolls Regulatory Board (TRB) must ensure that all toll road concessionaires and operators “carry out transactions only through the cashless mode of toll payment no later than November 2, 2020.”

TRB officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

SMC is one of the largest toll road operators in the country. Its network included the South Luzon Expressway, Skyway System, Naia Expressway, Southern Tagalog Arterial Road, and Tarlac Pangasinan La Union Expressway.

In its statement, SMC said that motorists are having difficulty obtaining RFID stickers due to “long lines at installation stations, particularly in the last two weeks.”

He said that November 30 will be the “absolute deadline” and that motorists without RFID tags on that date will not be able to use their toll roads.

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. is another major toll road operator whose network included the North Luzon Expressway, the Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway and the Cavite Expressway.

Rodrigo Franco, CEO of Metro Pacific Tollways, told the Inquirer on Friday that the company will comply with the DOTr directive unless an extension is allowed.

He added that the company has procedures that allow motorists to purchase RFID stickers on November 2 to use its highways.

But Franco also pointed to the same challenges when switching motorists to RFID.

“Motorists are converging at some stations on the main line, which creates long lines. We have other stations that can process sticker requests, ”he said.

In its statement, SMC said it has established installation and recharging lanes at toll plaza entry points, as well as installation and recharging stations already installed at strategic locations in Metro Manila and Luzon provinces.

TSB

Here is a list of SMC’s auto-scan RFID stations and toll plazas as of Oct 23:

For Skyway / NAIA Expressway:

Open 24/7

• Southbound C5 Customer Service Center
• Old NAIAX Drive-Thru heading west

Open from 8 am to 5 pm

• C5 Toll Plaza heading north
• Petron dasmarinas
• Petrón Green Valley
• Magellan Shell

Open from 6 am to 10 pm

• Bicutan Toll Plaza heading north
• Nichols Toll Plaza heading south
• Sykway Runway Toll Plaza northbound
• Exit from Sucat heading south

Open from 6 am to 6 pm

• NAIAX A and B main toll plaza

For the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx)

Open 24/7

• Southwoods Toll Plaza northbound
• After the entrance toll to Calamba
• Eton Toll Plaza northbound

Open from 8 am to 5 pm

• Ayala Greenfield Customer Service Center
• Northbound Southwoods Customer Service Center
• Sta. Rosa’s customer service center heading north
• Sta. Rosa customer service center heading south
• Cabuyao toll plaza heading south
• Susana Heights Toll Plaza heading south
• Mamplasan Toll Plaza heading north
• Mamplasan Toll Plaza heading south
• Filinvest toll plaza
• Calamba Customer Service Center heading north (after the toll gate)
• Petron evia
• Petron San Pedro heading south
• Mamplasan shell heading north
• Shell Putatan heading south
• Caltex MCX
• TOTAL SLEX North direction
• Southwoods Mall Terminal 1

Open from 6 am to 10 pm

• Sta. Rosa Toll Plaza heading south
• Cabuyao toll plaza heading north

Open from 6 am to 6 pm

• Alabang Southbound Entrance Toll Gate
• Petron East (KM.44) heading south

For STAR

Open from 6 am to 6 pm

• Sto. You take Drive-Thru northbound
• Lipa Drive-Thru heading south
• Batangas Drive-Thru heading south

Open from 8 am to 5 pm

• STAR Toll Lipa customer service center (Tambo exit)
• Petron Lipa heading north
• Petron Malvar heading south
• Petron Ibaan (KM. 86) Heading north

For TPLEX

Open 24/7

• Main office of TPLEX Tarlac heading north

Open from 8 am to 5 pm

• Petron Pura heading north
• Petron Pura heading south

Open from 7 am to 4 pm

• Tarlac toll plaza
• Victoria Toll Plaza
• Pura toll plaza
• Carmen toll plaza
• Urdaneta toll plaza
• Rosario toll plaza

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