THE public will soon be allowed to pay highway tolls using any digital payment provider and not just Touch ‘n Go, said Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
The Touch ‘n Go card for highway tolling would be retired in 2025 and the SmartTag lane would be phased out, he said in an exclusive interview with news portal Free Malaysia Today (FMT).
“Soon, it will be up to the public to use any digital mode of payment – whether you want to use Touch ‘n Go eWallet, debit or credit card, or Visa or Mastercard or any kind of (electronic) payment system as long as there’s a link available on a (particular) highway,” he was quoted as saying, adding that only one RFID tag would be required for the purpose.
It is estimated that there are more than 20 million Touch ‘n Go cards in circulation, with close to 91% of transactions being done on the 31 highways in the country.
According to the works minister, the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) was trying to make sure it would be convenient for the public to embrace the online mode of payment.
“We have been listening to the people’s demand to open more (online payments) and we are aware that people have been complaining that they have to pay in advance for Touch ‘n Go whether they are using (the highway) or not,” he said.
Fadillah went on to say that highway concessionaires had been instructed to be prepared to put in place by 2025 a multi-lane free flow (MLFF) system, which is a barrier-free tolling system, without toll booths and no dedicated lanes.
The MLFF system uses a gantry structure equipped with automated number plate recognition (ANPR) at specific locations.
“If we feel there will be some delay by some highway concessionaires, we may consider a private investment model or private finance initiatives to take over (the MLFF system),” he noted.
“The private investment model is for an open system. As you can see there are many highways in the country and all the systems need to be integrated.
“If we look at Singapore and Taiwan, they have single authority control (over the system).”
Touching on the pilot stage of ANPR, Fadillah told FMT that it is underway at the Kajang-Seremban Highway (LEKAS).
“We are also looking at a proposal for a public-private partnership or PFI, subject to further discussion with the LEKAS concessionaire and another pilot project at Besraya Highway soon,” he remarked. – Jan 25, 2022
Main photo credit: The Sun Daily
