GUIGUINTO, Bulacan—At the struck of 12:01 for the new year 2011, new toll fee rates were also implemented at the 85-km North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) from Balintawak to Sta. Ines, officials of the Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC) which manages the speed highway confirmed Thurdsay.
Marlene Ochoa, vice president for corporate communications of MNTC, defended the new toll increase as only toll rate adjustment with only a very minimal 11.8 percent increase from the current rates will be lower than the opening rates in 2005.
Today’s minimum toll for class 1 vehicles is at P41 from P36 compared to P42 when the NLEX re-opened under MNTC-TMC sister companies both under the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation new management in 2005.
The previous P64 Tabang toll to Balintawak Plaza is now at P72 for class 1 vehicles. Balintawak to Sta. Ines for class 1 vehicles is at a new rate of P195.
Ochoa at a patch phone interview at the Traffic Management Corporation (TMC) office here said the MNTC made the upward adjustment for the first time since it opened six years ago.
She said the January 2007 toll rates went down by 11. 6 percent and the July 2008 toll rates further went down from the previous 2007 rates by 3.1 percent.
At the NLEX booth toll plazas in Balintawak and Bocaue where this reporter entered Thursday, notices of the new toll rates to be effective January 1, 2011 were all up and posted.
Benigno Valles, senior manager for corporate communications of TMC said the new rate notice had been long announced and advised to the public.
Ochoa said the new toll rate is based on provisional authority given to them by the Land Transportation Franchise and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and will be implemented while a public hearing will also be conducted.
She said the toll being collected is worth because of the high quality services being offered and returned to all motorists using the NLEX because.
She said the highway is smooth and there is no area with holes and that can cause traffic.
She said recent road traffic and safety improvement facilities acquired such as accordion type accident impact reducer, lane management vehicle and intervention vehicles further completes the good services returned to the motorists.
Valles said the volumes of traffic this Holiday Season especially those motorists going to North have already increased from 10-15 percent but NLEX personnel have not encountered long piles of vehicles in any of its toll booth.
He said the entry record of vehicles this Christmas has set the highest record of 201,000 compared to the highest so far in the past years of only 199,000. However, the highest transaction was recorded last All Saint’s Day.
Despite the said volume of motorists that used the NLEX this Holiday Season which they also expect to further go up this New Year, Valles said, no major accidents have occurred and no volume of traffic was recorded.
“All are smooth flow, there was no problem area except for the Bocaue section near the stores of fireworks,” he told NEWS CORE.
He said only self accidents of blown tires.
He said the motorists did not take the NLEX in bulk at once time but have scattered times of undergoing their long trips home that’s why there was no heavy volume felt at one time despite an already increased up to almost 20,000 in the numbers of vehicles that have travelled this Christmas Season compared to regular days.
He said the Intervention Vehicles and four Lane Management Vehicles roaming along the NLEX help guide and warn motorists of possible road abuses and shortcomings that can lead to accidents.
He added the opening of the Mindanao Avenue Link also eases up traffic along Balintawak toll plaza.
Francisco Dagohoy, Information officer of TMC said they are expecting a heavy turn of traffic come January 2 and 3 when the vacation is over and motorists are gear back to Metro Manila that’s why they release advisories for the motorists to take extra precautionary measures to avoid accidents.
Dagohoy said they are advising drivers to have enough rest and sleep so that they will not fall sleepy while on the wheels.