NLEX toll fees to increase on May 18

MOTORISTS USING the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) will pay higher toll fees starting Tuesday (May 18), the tollway operator said over the weekend.

NLEX Corp. said in a statement the toll increase will take effect at 12:01 a.m. on May 18.

An additional P2 for Class 1 vehicles or ordinary cars (value-added tax included) using the open system, where a flat rate is charged, will be collected.

Quezon City, Caloocan City, Valenzuela City, Malabon City, Navotas City, Meycauayan City and Marilao, Bulacan are all part of the open system.

The closed system is between Bocaue, Bulacan and Mabalacat City, Pampanga, according to the company.

“For the entire NLEX journey end to end, Class 1 vehicles will pay an additional P6,” the company added.

For Class 2 vehicles like buses and small trucks, an additional P3 will be collected in the NLEX open system, while an additional P4 will be collected for large trucks or Class 3 vehicles.

“In summary, motorists traveling end-to-end between Metro Manila and Mabalacat City, Pampanga will be charged an additional P6, P14, and P16, respectively, depending on their vehicle class,” the company said.

NLEX Corp. also said the increase is part of the “approved” periodic adjustments due in 2012 and 2014.

The TRB (Toll Regulatory Board) and NLEX agreed to implement the increase on a staggered basis to cushion the impact of the adjustments,” it noted.

NLEX Corp. announced last week that it was testing an automatic license plate recognition system at its 25 toll lanes in Valenzuela City, partly to identify erring motorists who use cashless lanes without radio-frequency identification (RFID) stickers or with insufficient load balance.

The company continues to keep its toll barriers up at Mindanao, Karuhatan, and Paso de Blas toll plazas.

Among its ongoing projects are the NLEX Connector Road, an eight-kilometer toll road linking the tail of NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 at C3 Road in Caloocan City to Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Sta. Mesa, Manila, and the Candaba Viaduct upgrade, which aims to ensure the bridge’s long-term serviceability.

NLEX Corp. is part of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., the tollways unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC). MPIC is one of three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc.

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