With only 14 days left before the implementation of fully cashless payments at tollways on November 2, the agony of motorists at designated RFID tollway sticker installation sites is palpable. The queues just keep getting longer and longer.
On top of that, most motorists still don’t know whether they need to get either just an Easytrip sticker under Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) or an Autosweep sticker under San Miguel Corporation (SMC), or they must affix both stickers on their cars to use the tollways under the separate companies.
What’s the real status of the so-called interoperability of these RFID stickers? Why is RFID operation not seamless at toll plazas even if your account has more than enough load? Are the RFID systems being overloaded with the sudden surge of users in recent weeks?
Well, a source explained to Top Bikes Philippines one reason behind the failure of sensors to read RFID tags. It boils down to the type of USB systems used by MPTC and SMC.
According to our source, Easytrip uses an older type of USB system, and because of this, Autosweep is more capable and effective at reading and processing transactions. Easytrip also leaves the subscriber more prone to being stuck at payment lanes. Say you got an Autosweep sticker and account first, then you proceeded to an Easytrip installation site to apply for an Easytrip account that’s linked to your Autosweep sticker. So, you have two accounts under one sticker. In this case, the Easytrip scanners at payment lanes sometimes have difficulty reading your Autosweep sticker, and the barrier only opens after an attendant manually scans your Easytrip account card.
We are hoping that the tollway management will clear up these issues as soon as possible before November 2. We understand these could be birthing pains as the tollways shift to cashless payment systems. For now, make sure you always have your RFID cards ready in case a problem arises.
