No cash at three toll plazas from Wednesday

Going cashless: SMART is one of the highways to accept only electronic payments to ensure smoother traffic flow. – filepic

BY NOON on Sept 9, motorists in the Klang Valley will no longer be able pay cash at three highways, namely the Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway (AKLEH), the Duta-Ulu Klang Expressway (DUKE) and the Storm Water Management And Road Tunnel (SMART).

All collections at these toll booths will be done electronically using Smart Tag or Touch n’ Go.

The Smart Tunnel toll booth is located in Sungai Besi, and the Akleh toll plaza is at Datuk Keramat. The affected toll plazas on the Duke Highway are at Batu, Aper Panas and Sentul Pasar.

On Aug 6, PLUS Malaysia had launched the electronic toll collection (ETC) that will take effect on Sept 9 at Bukit Kayu Hitam and Jitra in Kedah.

ETC will also be implemented along the KL-Karak Highway at Gombak and Bentong toll booths, Lunas and Kubang Semang toll booths at the Butterworth-Kulim Expressway (BKE) and Penang Bridge.

Malaysian Highway Authority deputy director-general (business) Datuk Aziz Abdullah said the move from cash to ETC was an initiative for motorists to have an easier, safer and faster journey.

A study, he said, showed that fully electronic toll plazas would help reduce traffic congestion in the city by about 20% to 30%.

“Currently, the cash lanes allow about 300 vehicles per hour, while the Touch n’ Go and Smart Tag lanes allow 550 and 1,200 vehicles per hour respectively,’’ said Aziz, who was at the launch held at the SMART operation and maintenance complex in Jalan Davis, Kuala Lumpur.

Ekovest Berhad managing director Datuk Lim Keng Cheng said all the toll plazas have operators on standby to assist motorists who arrived at the toll booths without the electronic payment card.

Operators, he said, would sell RM5 Touch n’Go cards to them.

Aziz hoped that 175 toll plazas in peninsula Malaysia can go cashless by 2017.

SMART, DUKE and AKLEH had notified motorists about the electronic toll system through the media, websites, electronic signboards, pamphlets, bunting, banners, and through social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

AKLEH and DUKE are selling Smart Tags at a discount of RM99. DUKE is offering toll rebate at 5% for motorists using the road from Sept 9 to Dec 8.

The rebate should be redeemed within a month at the customer service centre.