Barriers Free is the final solution to clogged toll plazas and the SMC infrastructure has started its test run on the new technology that runs this.
In a recent statement, SMC Infra announced that it is now utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to steer its toll road network towards barrier-less toll plazas soon.
San Miguel Corporation chairman and CEO Ramon S. Ang said that the company’s infrastructure arm has already installed 522 automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras in all its toll plazas and gantries across the 220-km expressway it operates.
The ALPR is designed to support the existing Autosweep radio frequency identification (RFID) electronic toll collection system now in place in the toll roads.
License plate recognition system in toll road collection is widely used worldwide, more so in “congestion pricing” or surcharging motorists who use these roads during rush hours.
Countries like Singapore and the United Kingdom enforce what is termed as “open road tolling” using ALPR in their congestion pricing schemes.
The entire stretch of South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) and the at-grade section of the Metro Manila Skyway System have begun initial testing of the system by implementing “barriers up” at toll plazas as early as last year.
The new technology will also be installed on all future toll road projects spearheaded by SMC Infrastructure, including the SLEX-TR4 project to Lucena City, Quezon which is now under construction.
Open toll collection
While the new system has caused confusion among SLEX’s users, it should be noted that the barrier-less toll collection system is now a standard for many toll roads around the world.
Countries such as Singapore and the United Kingdom that implement "congestion pricing," or surcharging motorists who use roads during rush hour, have switched to what is termed as "open road tolling" to effectively implement their congestion pricing schemes.
Open-toll road systems utilize electronic toll collection system to charge road users without the inconvenience of motorists having to slow down at an exit to pay their toll.
It should be noted, by the way, that some local government units in Laguna province have long complained that queues at SLEX's toll plazas have created a "domino effect" where their own main roads are now subject to traffic jams.
To avoid "leakage," or nonpayment of toll fees, toll operators can employ tools such as high-definition cameras to identify violators, and leakage can be offset in part or whole by fees and fines collected against offenders.
In the case of SMC's toll roads, Ang said all toll plazas in its toll roads are now equipped with ALPR cameras, which support RFID antennas that read the account information of motorists.
“With help from artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, our ALPR cameras cross-match motorist information from RFID tags to ensure customer data is accurate, and correct toll is debited from motorists’ Autosweep wallets,” he added.
The ALPR cameras will serve as a backup for validation across SMC’s expressway network, as RFID antennas and tags will remain as the primary means to collect toll from motorists.
With the new system in place, each lane at toll plazas across SMC’s 220-kilometer expressway network will have both an ALPR camera and an RFID scanner, which will start reading vehicle information some distance away.
Vehicle information will then be sent to servers where AI will cross-match the information, ensuring accuracy and enabling faster throughput.
Government’s push
The national government had long pushed for SMC Infrastructure and Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), the two major operators of toll roads, for a barrier-less toll collection system.
In fact, MPTC had laid out plans to demolish toll plazas in its own toll road system by 2025 in order to prepare for the full implementation of the barrier-less toll collection by 2026.
This, along with SMC and MPTC’s efforts for RFID system interoperability, is in line with the Toll Regulatory Board’s (TRB) goal of “cashless” toll collection at the country’s toll roads, a program that was started at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
The new system is expected to solve the issue of bottlenecks at toll plazas, which in turn will shorten travel time.
“There are still a number of key milestones that government needs to reach before full implementation of barrier-less expressways. But essentially, in line with government mandates, we’ve made the necessary investment and our barrier-less system is already physically in place and ready to be used at any time,” Ang said.
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