Taking new toll payment option in our stride

One difficulty for motorists is having to drive their vehicles directly below the RFID scanners.

Despite some hiccups, RFID is still preferable to existing systems

THE introduction of Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) by Touch ‘n Go (TnG) at toll plazas has definitely made my journey smoother.

Now I no longer need to wind down the window to tap the card reader with my TnG card.

I got my car fitted with the RFID when it was offered for free.

Although there were some slight hiccups when the RFID system went live in January 2019, it has improved since then.

One of the more common recurring problems is vehicles having trouble scanning the RFID tag.

I still see motorists adjusting their vehicles’ position by either reversing or moving forward while passing through the RFID toll booth.

This happens because the vehicle is not directly below or near the scanner, which is usually placed just before the boom gate.

It still happens, although not as frequently as before.

Even if only one vehicle has to reverse and adjust its position so that the RFID tag can be scanned, it can create a mini backlog on the highway.

It doesn’t help that the position of the scanners varies at different toll booths, some are closer to the boom gate while others are further away.

This is especially true when a single lane allows motorists to use either the RFID tag or TnG card.

This is to prevent motorists who opt for the TnG card option from having their RFID tag scanned instead.

One simple soluiton is to have the road under the scanner painted with a RFID logo, which I have observed is done only at certain toll plazas.

It would help motorists identify the location of the scanner instead of having to look frantically above.

Having two systems on a single lane usually occurs when toll plazas are too small to accommodate one system per toll booth.

To prevent that, maybe TnG should consider phasing out SmartTAG, which I see as an outdated technology.

After all, the sale of SmartTAG was discontinued following the launch of RFID.

Would this inconvenience motorists who still use SmartTAG at toll booths?

I believe the same scenario would apply to those who did not own a TnG card before toll payment was made cashless.

Just like they had to purchase the card then, now they need to get their vehicles fitted with the RFID tag.

After all, who wouldn’t prefer the RFID tag over SmartTAG, as the former is maintenance-free.

Phasing out SmartTAG would free up more lanes for RFID and TnG.

Despite my enthusiasm, there are still many improvements I hope will be implemented to enhance the RFID system.

These include having RFID at both ends of the toll plaza to cater to vehicles entering from the left-most or right-most lanes.

Some areas have RFID toll booths mostly on the far right lanes, which can be inconvenient for vehicles turning into the toll plazas from the left side.

Although new technology can be intimidating for those accustomed to traditional toll payment methods, digitalisation is inevitable and Malaysia is lagging behind many other countries.

I hope that one day, we can do away with boom gates and replace them with a technology similar to the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantry in Singapore.