DOTr moves new toll guideline implementation to 2025

The implementation of new tollway rules under Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) 2024-001 has been moved further to January 2025, the leadership of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) announced.

The deferment was made a week before the scheduled employment of the latest guidelines, which includes penalizing those with defective radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and insufficient credits.

To note, the implementation of JMC 2024-001 was originally scheduled to take effect last August 31 but was moved to October 1.

“We are collating inputs from recent consultation meetings with various tollway stakeholders including information and profile of violators. This information will be used to make any amendments to the Joint Memorandum Circular,” Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista noted.

However, he stressed the need for continuous fine-tuning of tollway operations to achieve the ultimate goal of having seamless expressways.

“Let us not lose sight of the goal: convenient and traffic-less travels at all expressways using cashless toll exits,” he added.

Meanwhile, Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) Executive Director Alvin Carullo stated that the deferment will continue until the operational system issues are resolved, adding that it could be deferred longer than January 2025 if needed.

He also clarified that there will still be a dedicated cash lane for non-regular users of tollways — meaning motorists who seldom use tollways are not required to install an RFID.

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