MANILA — Emergency vehicles responding to fire, flood, and other disasters may now pass through the toll expressways in the northern and southern parts of Metro Manila without stopping for payment through the installation of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) sticker tags.
This, as the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) Friday for the installation of RFID stickers for government and emergency vehicles that will enter and exit through the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) toll areas in the north and Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) in the south.
RFID sticker tags will be installed on 100 government and emergency vehicles that pass through toll roads managed and operated by the MPTC to swiftly deliver emergency services.
MPTC will attach RFID sticker tags to emergency vehicles bearing an initial load of PHP500.
MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim said its partnership with MPTC would enable the agency to deliver immediate services to the 17 local government units of Metro Manila.
“With the RFID stickers, our emergency vehicles can pass through gates without rolling windows down and pay for a ticket manually,” Lim said during the MOA signing held at the MMDA headquarters in Makati City.
Cities that can be easily accessed via Cavitex are Muntinlupa, Parañaque, and Las Piñas while NLEX covers the cities of Caloocan and Valenzuela.
For his part, MPTC President Rodrigo Franco said the firm supports the MMDA’s mandate to provide quick and efficient public services.
“With this partnership with MMDA, we can help the agency respond faster during times of natural disasters,” according to Franco.
EasyDrive (powered by EasyTrip) is the country’s first RFID sticker tag used for toll payment instead of manual cash payment.
It uses the latest RFID technology in paper-thin battery-less sticker form that contains a chip and antenna attached to a vehicle’s windshield or headlamp, and can be used at EasyDrive dedicated or mix toll lanes at Cavitex.
This eliminates queuing at toll plazas as vehicles go through the lanes without stopping for payment. (Aerol John Pateña/PNA)
