The Cebu-Cordoba Link Expressway in the Philippines uses RFID systems to automate toll collection

On October 3, 2022, the Cebu-Cordoba Link Expressway (CCLEX) in the Philippines is completing the adoption of an RFID system for automated toll collection. It connects mainland Cebu to Cordoba City on Mactan Island through the South Road property in Cebu City. Initially, the new bridge and expressway tolls were paid in cash, said Allan G. Alfon, president and general manager of the Cebu-Cordoba Link Expressway Corporation (CCLEC), with the introduction of UHF RFID solutions to make tolling automated and faster, Thus preventing traffic delays and traveling safer.

CCLEC provides toll management by allowing drivers to pay via an RFID-enabled car glass tag affixed to each vehicle's right headlamp. Passive UHF RFID Readers have been deployed at a single tollbooth spanning 20 lanes for crossing bridges since the beginning of this year. With the solution in place and cars already equipped with RFID tags, CCLEC intends to end cash-based toll payments this October.

8.9 kilometers (5.5 miles) of the new expressway enables vehicles to travel from Cebu City to Cordoba town through the Mactan Strait, as one of the three junctions on Mactan Island, it is called Cebu-Cordoba The Great Bridge, or simply the Third Bridge. As the longest cross-sea bridge in the Philippines, the structure can provide passage for large ships up to 51 meters (167 feet) high, and it will officially open to motorists on April 30, 2022. 80 kilometers per hour (50 miles per hour), but must park in the toll zone, which costs PHP 90 (US$1.55) for a standard vehicle.

Alfon said the highways and bridges are designed to facilitate trade activities and economic opportunities between Cebu City and Cordoba, as well as the Visayas region, and the RFID solution is aimed at reducing traffic delays. The single toll booth is located on an artificial island and has 10 lanes, four of which will accept cash until October 1, when they will also switch to an RFID-only payment system. In the field, automatic lane barriers ensure that motorists pay tolls and ensure safe lane control.

CCLEC, a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.'s (MPTC) toll division, has partnered with local governments including Cebu City and Cordoba City to develop the automated toll collection system. According to reports, MPTC is the largest toll road operator in the Philippines. The agency has installed UHF RFID readers and RFID Antennas in front of each toll lane at the tollbooth and placed them at a safe distance in front of the automated lane barrier. That way, if the solution detects that the sticker is for an authorized vehicle, there are funds in the sticker owner's RFID account, the toll system will debit the account and open the barrier to let them pass.

To use the system, drivers must have an RFID car glass tag applied by a CCLEX installer, which means going to a CCLEX customer service center to have the RFID tag attached to their vehicle. First, though, users can register online and then report to the nearest installation site where the tags with built-in RFID chips have been installed. Drivers must fund an associated prepaid account, which is debited each time a toll is passed. Each tag's unique ID number is linked to the corresponding vehicle's information and account in the software.

Users can reload their RFID accounts and check their balances through a smartphone app. The RFID solution went live for the first time in July, beginning the process of phasing out the cash payment system. "We've been using an RFID toll system since July 1, 2022, although we also have cash lanes," Alfon said. "From October 1, 2022, we will be completely cashless."

To date, some 90,000 vehicles have been registered with the cashless RFID payment system, and drivers are still using the technology. "We continue to encourage our customers to put RFID stickers on their vehicles," Alfon said. So far, the adoption rate of motorists using the bridge is about 25%. "We intend to distribute as many RFID tags as possible, or 200,000 now."