Emergency response vehicles of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will be fitted with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) stickers for fast ingress and egress at the major north and south toll plazas.
MMDA and Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) on Friday signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the installation of RFID sticker tags in 100 government and emergency vehicles that pass through major toll roads managed and operated by MPTC.
Under the arrangement, MPTC will attach the RFID sticker tags bearing an initial toll load of P500.
Registered government and emergency vehicles responding to fire, flood and other disasters, can enter and exit through the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) toll areas in the north and Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) in the south without stopping for cash transaction.
MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim thanked MPTC, citing that the agreement would help the agency deliver quicker service to the 17 local government units of Metro Manila.
Cities that can be easily accessed via Cavitex are Muntinlupa, Parañaque and Las Piñas, while NLEX covers the cities of Caloocan and Valenzuela.
“With the RFID stickers, our emergency vehicles can pass through the toll gates without rolling down windows to pay for a ticket manually,” said Lim, during the MOA signing held at the MMDA headquarters in Makati City.
For his part, Rodrigo Franco, MPTC president, said MPTC supports the government’s mandate to provide quick and efficient public service.
“With this partnership with MMDA, we can help the agency respond faster, especially during times of natural disasters,” said 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 dedicated EasyDrive or mixed toll lanes at Cavitex.
EasyDrive eliminates queuing at toll plazas as vehicles go through the lanes without stopping for payment.
