Govt to implement RFID toll collection at all toll plazas nationwide soon

GEORGE TOWN: The Federal Government will implement the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for toll collection at all toll plazas nationwide soon.

When asked whether it would take three to five years to implement the RFID technology, Works Minister Baru Bian said it would not take that long.

"Three to five years is too long. But give us time to ensure that it is properly implemented to benefit road users," Baru said.

He spoke after officiating the Highway Concession Conference 2019 on Monday (July 15).

The event was jointly organised by the Works Ministry and Malaysian Highway Authority in cooperation with Highway Concessionaires Malaysia.

The Works Minister had pointed out that toll plazas without booths could only be initiated when the RFID system is widely used throughout all highways nationwide.

From the initial plan by the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM), RFID systems were supposed to start in the third quarter of last year.

The special lane for smart tag would only be eliminated after the removal of boom gate barriers and toll booths as part of the multi-lane free flow (MLFF) roll-out probably in the next two years.

Baru said the Federal Government needed to develop standards and guidelines for the highway industry, particularly in the areas of building information modelling, communication protocol, big data analytics, and strategic and tactical asset management.

"Communication protocols ensures seamless integration for machine-to-machine communication.

"Big data analytics are to help with future planning, while strategic and tactical asset management is to enable optimum asset management and maintenance.

"In formulating theses standards, we need not reinvent the wheel.

"We can adopt and adapt those standards that are already available and modify them to suit our needs," he added.

On the proposal by Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd to take over Plus Malaysia Bhd, Baru said the government had received the offer.

"We are studying the offer. No other companies have made an offer.There's no time frame for any decision.

Any present and future development of highways in the country will be studied in the light of a holistic study on the direction of tolls in the country," he said.

In January, the Works Ministry appointed an independent auditor to study and research the direction in which the toll industry in this country is taking.