Going Cashless: What You Need to Know About RFID for SLEX, Skyway, NLEX

It's a cashless future even on the road.
by Meryl Medel | July 06, 2020

With the still ongoing pandemic, everyone’s going cashless to limit human contact to as little as possible. And the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has also been campaigning to adopt cashless transactions, especially on the expressways, encouraging all motorists to get an RFID for their vehicles ASAP.

 

What’s an RFID?

RFID stands for radio frequency identification, which is used to allow motorists quicker and smoother cashless transactions at toll gates by assigning an identification tag to a car and letting DOTr subtract their toll fee from the motorist’s prepaid account. You will be given a sticker identification tag for your car that would let the RFID readers at the tollgates, detecting where you came from and where you’re exiting and automatically lifting the toll barrier for a hassle-free cashless experience. Check out DOTr’s website to understand better how it works.

This is actually widely used in other countries like Australia, where every vehicle is required to have it, but the Philippines has only adopted it in more recent years.

 

Can you still avoid using it?

Apparently not. San Miguel Corporation (SMC) — which operates several major tollways including Skyway, the NAIA Expressway (NAIAX), South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), STAR Tollways, and Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX) — has recently announced that the tollways would be shifting to cashless payments by January 2021.

Cashless transactions would begin by October 15, 2020 at Skyway, NAIAX, and SLEX, and STAR Tollways and TPLEX will see the adoption by January 2021.

Meanwhile, NLEX Corporation is also upgrading its RFID systems in line with DOTr’s campaign for cashless payments, so it seems that cashless transactions in all expressways in the country won’t be too far in the future.

 

How can you apply and install RFID?

Tollway operations are currently offering free installation of RFID for all types of vehicles, whether you have a private vehicle, a public utility vehicle, or commercial vehicles.

Currently, there are two tollway operators who can help you with your RFID installation, depending on which expressways you need them for. Motorists who frequent NLEX, SCTEX, CAVITEX, and CALAX should go with Easytrip, while those who frequent Skyway, SLEX, NAIAX, STAR Tollway, MCX, and TPLEX should get an Autosweep RFID.

You can visit the following installation stations to go cashless as soon as possible:

For Easytrip RFID

1. Shell Balintawak Northbound
2. Petron Marilao (PM) Northbound
3. Shell Balagtas (SB) Northbound
4. Petron Balagtas (PB) Southbound
5. Shell Mexico Southbound
6. NLEX Drive & Dine
7. Clark South (Subic Bound)
8. Lane Selling in Angeles Toll Plaza (Entry)
9. Lane Selling in Balagtas Toll Plaza (Entry)
10. NLEX Customer Service Centers
11. Balintawak CSC
12. San Fernando CSC
13. Longos Bacoor NB, Manila Bound Longos Entry
14. CIC NB Ambulant, Manila Bound CIC Customer Service
15. CIC SB Ambulant, Cavite Bound CIC Customer Service
16. Kawit Northbound, Manila Bound Kawit Toll Plaza
17. CAVITEX CSC Northbound
18. CAVITEX CSC Southbound
19. Shell Logcom Eastbound to Pasig
20. Shell C5 Heritage Westbound to Merville
21. Caltex Merville Eastbound to Taguig
22. Caltex C5 Extension Eastbound to Taguig
23. C5 Extension Road Junction Taguig City
24. C5 Link Customer Service Center
25. C5 Link Customer Service West Service Road
26. Shell Station Nuvali, Across S&R Nuvali, Tagaytay-Sta. Rosa Road
27. Easytrip Head Office (Kapitolyo, Pasig City)

For Autosweep RFID

1. Skyway Office (SOMCO)
2. Ayala Greenfield Toll Plaza Southbound
3. Sta. Rosa Southbound Toll Plaza
4. Sta. Rosa Northbound Toll Plaza
5. Southwoods Northbound Toll Plaza
6. Southwoods Southbound Toll Plaza
7. Petron SLEX
8. Shell Putatan Southbound Gas Station
9. Shell Mamplasan Northbound Gas Station
10. Shell Magallanes Gas Station
11. TPLEX Main Office
12. Petron Pura Northbound
13. Petron Pura Southbound
14. Petron Dasmarinas
15. Carmona Toll Plaza
16. Petron Malvar km 75 Southbound
17. Petron Lipa km 79 Northbound
18. Petron Evia
19. Cabuyao South Bound Toll Plaza
20. Star Tollway Lipa (Tambo)
21. Petron C5 RFID Station Northbound
22. Susana Heights Toll Plaza
23. Petron NAIA
24. Petron Valle Verde
25. Petron Commerce Avenue

 

Where can you reload your RFID account?

There are several options for both Easytrip and Autosweep RFIDs. You can go to gasoline stations like Petron and Shell, convenience stores with TouchPay stations like 7-11 to reload with cash.

But of course, to encourage cashless transactions, the tollway operators have partnered with banks and online payment platforms to allow you to reload without the need for cash. You can load your Autosweep RFID through GCash, CoinsPH, JustPay, and several banks like Chinabank, Unionbank, and Maybank. Meanwhile, your Easytrip RFID is reloadable through Smart Money, Bancnet, credit cards, and direct transfers to their bank accounts with Metrobank, BDO, and UCPB.

 

What do you think of this new campaign? Tell us your thoughts below.

For more information, visit the DOTr official website.