SMC Infrastructure yesterday began implementing its Seamless Southern Tollways program which will eliminate the toll stops within the expressway as part of its continuing efforts to minimize traffic and enhance motorists’ user experience along its tollways.
In a statement, Ramon Ang,San Miguel Corp. (SMC) president, said the program, which SMC’s infrastructure arm has been working on since early this year, will make travel along Southern Tagalog Arterial Road, South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) and the entire Skyway system (Stages 1,2,3) much faster.
“Our goal when we started was to cut down toll stops from five to just two–entry and exit–whether for electronic RFID or cash payments, for both southbound and northbound vehicles across all our southern tollways. With this, we can make trips for motorists faster, more seamless, and less stressful, as they will no longer need to endure long queues at multiple toll plazas within the expressways,” Ang said.
In the current scheme, southbound motorists coming from the north and heading to as far as Batangas in the south usually have to make five stops: entry via the Del Monte Skyway 3 toll plaza, then another three stops at the Calamba, SLEX Greenfield and Sto. Tomas toll plazas, and a final stop at their exit point.
Ang said under the new scheme, thiswill be cut down to just two — at the entry and exit points.
The same will be implemented for northbound traffic, which currently have to make toll stops at the Sto. Tomas main plaza, SLEX Greenfield, the Skyway main plaza in Alabang and then the Skyway 3 exit.
In the new setup, all toll plazas in the middle will be pass-through, with payment stops made only at the Skyway main plaza and the exit point, Ang said.
Implementation of the new Seamless Southern Tollways program for southbound traffic is set for December 1, while northbound traffic will benefit from the same setup by December 15. Integration of the NAIA Expressway is set for the first quarter of 2023.
Ang said a major development that has allowed SMC Infrastructure to improve this process is motorists’ wider adoption of the Autosweep RFID electronic toll collection (ETC) system.
Since the pandemic, ETC penetration has grown from 45 percent to 80 percent, allowing for safer, more efficient toll collection and the implementation of technology-based solutions to previous traffic constraints.
Ang also asked for the cooperation of motorists to help minimize traffic buildup by ensuring their Autosweep accounts have sufficient balance, and to use the cash lanes if they have insufficient balance.
He added that the Seamless Southern Tollways program is also part of SMC Infrastructure’s preparation for full interoperability with other expressways, which it has been pushing for and working on with government and other tollway operators.
“This improvement in the southern tollways will enhance the upcoming interoperability project, as it will contribute to the overall seamlessness of travel across all expressways,” he said.
“At the end of the day, what we want to achieve is to minimize traffic and the time our countrymen spend on the road. That is why we constantly invest to improve our infrastructure and the systems that help run them–so we can make sure trips are efficient, seamless, and as safe as possible for the public,” Ang added.
