Traffic along NLEX has 'vastly improved,' says MPTC

MANILA - Traffic has vastly improved in the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), its operator said Wednesday.

Days earlier, the tollways faced massive congestion following the implementation of a cashless toll payment system through RFID.

"For now, we have already addressed many of the problems especially in the toll gate especially during this Christmas season," Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) chief communication officer Romulo Quimbo Jr. said. 

"We have recent data that shows that traffic has improved vastly especially along those areas where we have those combined activities," he told ANC's "Matters of Fact".

Last week, the Valenzuela City government suspended the business permit of NLEX Corp., a subsidiary of the Manny Pangilinan-led MPTC, for failure to comply with the city's demands to improve its service.

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On Tuesday, NLEX Corp. said local officials had accepted their solutions to ease the traffic jams in their toll gates and resolve issues regarding the faulty RFID.

It temporarily reopened cash lanes to ease traffic in its Valenzuela toll plaza and agreed on transferring RFID installation and reloading away from the toll plazas. The company also added new RFID lanes in both Karuhatan and Mindanao toll plazas for existing RFID users to improve travel time.

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Quimbo said the solutions they presented during the dialogue were considered acceptable for easing traffic throughout the system.

"We're hoping the dialogue will produce such a result as soon as possible," he said. "We're looking forward to the immediate solution of the problem."

Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian had said the company agreed to finish its systems upgrade by end of January 2021.

During the interview, Quimbo said implementing a toll holiday along the entire stretch of the expressway as suggested by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian was up to the government.

"The matter of having a toll holiday for the entire expressway obviously is a regulatory matter," he said.

“We are just following the requirements of the national government and whatever the order of the national government, if this will be issued, we will of course comply. For now, we have no such plan,” Quimbo added.