Senior Works Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof has had to defend the decision to transition to RFID technology (again?) at the Dewan Rakyat, repeating the claim that it is faster and more effective for toll payments than the infrared tech used in SmarTAG devices used in vehicles previously.
The main line of questions came from Sabak Bernam MP Datuk Mohd Fasiah Mohd Fakeh about the use of RFID along all closed tolls along the North-South Expressway (PLUS) and East Coast Highway 2 (LPT2), which doubted its functionality and benefits.
In response, the Senior Works Minister said that several short-term measures have been taken to mitigate the congestion issues faced at toll plazas such as stationing toll officers to handle problematic lanes before a queue gets out of hand and maintaining Touch n’Go and SmarTAG lanes.
He also reiterated that the implementation of RFID as the primary means of toll payments is on-going in line with the goal of having a near-seamless multi-lane free flow (MLFF) highway network by 2025, adding:
“If we look at the existing system, we need to stop to scan the Touch n Go card before the toll gate barrier opens. Through the use of SmartTAG and RFID technology, 1,000 vehicles can pass through a toll point within an hour, compared to only 450 vehicles (with the use of TnG cards),” he said.
As a Malaysian motorist, we are not doubting that RFID technology presents a way to make toll payments more quickly and easily compared to Touch n’Go or SmarTAG, but given the state of its current implementation, external/situational factors are causing the experience to be identical or significantly worse than the older system.
However, nothing on this matter has been properly addressed until after public outcry forces a response from the highway concessionnaire, technology/service provider, or the government – never before.
For example: issues such as having just one or two RFID lanes versus four or more Touch n’Go and SmarTAG lanes contributing to long queues, DIY sticker installations means inconsistent detection performance, not having a Touch n’Go tag reader on RFID lanes as a back up means of payment.
These are all common sense problems that have seemingly been left unattended to, and no amount of talk about multi-lane free-flow will convince the Rakyat of RFID’s benefits if they are frustrated by it on a day-to-day basis.
Keyword: Works Minister: 'RFID Good, SmarTAG Bad' For Multi-Lane Free-Flow By 2025