Jam-free toll plazas by 2020

Ismail (holding the RFID sticker) and Nik Fauzi at the Karak toll plaza after launching the ETC system.

BENTONG: Traffic congestion at highway toll plazas will be a thing of the past with the expected implementation of the Multi Lane Free Flow (MLFF) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems by 2020.

Malaysian Highway Authority director-general Datuk Ismail Md Salleh said the systems were being studied as it involved other aspects including law enforcement.

He said the RFID sticker was currently used by the police, Fire and Rescue Department and ambulance services which were exempted from paying toll.

“If everything goes well, it will be introduced to the public by January 2018,” he said.

Ismail added that the MLFF would be on a trial run, under test for a single lane first and later expanded to more lanes when the time comes.

He said the barriers at the toll collection plazas would not be demolished until all related systems were proven to be up to mark.

Speaking to reporters at the launch of the full use of electronic toll collection (ETC), Ismail said as of noon on Monday, all collection at the 177 toll plazas nationwide were being conducted electronically, replacing the previous manual method.

He said the 19 toll plazas on the East Coast Expressway (LPT1) and LPT2 (Jabor to Kuala Terengganu) were the last to implement the ETC system.

Ismail said studies showed that ETC could process the toll collection for 600 vehicles in an hour through the use of Touch ‘n Go cards and some 1,000 cars through SmartTAG.

He said by collecting cash, only about 240 vehicles could pass through a toll plaza in an hour.

“There are between 13 and 14 million vehicles using the highways throughout the whole country every day and the ETC system will ensure smoother traffic flow at the toll plaza exit points.

“As a start for both LPT1 and LPT 2, we will give away Touch 'n Go cards to road users for free. They can then top up the credits either at the R&R stops or anywhere it is available,” Ismail said at the Karak toll plaza here.

Also present was Anih Bhd executive director Datuk Nik Fauzi Nik Hussein.

Nik Fauzi said all nine toll plazas on the LPT1 had implemented ETC. These are at Karak, Lanchang, Temerloh, Chenor, Maran, Sri Jaya, Gambang, Kuantan and Jabor.

“The company has installed self-service kiosks at R&R Temerloh and R&R Gambang for users to buy or top up their Touch ‘n Go cards.

“They can also buy or top up the cards at the three customer service centres at the Karak, Temerloh and Kuantan toll plazas from 7am to 10pm daily,” he said.

For inquiries on the ETC system, call LPT-Line at 09-547 9111/ 1700-818- 700 or go to the Lebuhraya Pantai Timur page on Facebook or Twitter @LPTTrafik.