PLUS Malaysia has taken note of the Prime Minister’s directive to ensure that highway users have more than just the RFID mode of payment to use to electronically pay toll charges. The RFID option has co-existed with the SmartTAG and Touch ‘n Go payment options in most open toll highway networks since 2018 and last Saturday, PLUS introduced it along the North-South Expressway so that motorists who travelled from Juru in the north to Skudai in the south could also use the payment mode.
However, the move caused severe congestion at many toll plazas due to confusion as well as the reduction of SmartTAG lanes which had either been converted to the manual Touch ‘n Go system or to RFID lanes. This appears to not have been the best approach as there are 5 million SmartTAG users but at this time, only 1.5 million vehicles have RFID tags. So it actually makes sense that proportionally, there should be more lanes for the system that has more users.
Apologising to the thousands of motorists for the inconvenience caused as a result of the congestion, PLUS has announced this evening that it will reinstate SmartTAG lanes to address the matter and manage traffic at the toll plazas.
“PLUS is committed to reinstate 16 toll plazas with 19 Touch ‘n Go lanes into SmartTAG lanes by January 25, 2022, in antipication of the Chinese New Year travel exodus. Subsequently, post-CNY, on February 19, an additional 18 toll plazas will convert 24 lanes to SmartTAG lanes”, the statement said.
While the PM’s directive was reported today, PLUS officials had earlier been in discussion with the Senior Minister of Works, Dato’ Sri Hj Fadillah Haji Yusof and the Director-General of the Malaysia Highway Authority (LLM), Dato Ir Mohd Shuhaimi Hassan, in response to concerns and unhappiness of the public’s during the initial RFID implementation and the removal of the SmartTag lanes at certain toll plazas.
PLUS has proactively identified areas of improvement and has assured the government that the highway technological enhancement will lead to a better and improved customer experience. The RFID project is in line with the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) blueprint by the Ministry of Works towards a congestion-free Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) highway eco-system.
Faster-operating double-arm barriers will be installed so that the opening time is quicker and the vehicle can continue forward smoothly.
Acknowledging the inconvenience caused to highway users, PLUS says it is fully committed to improving its overall highway customer experience. Teams have been formed to work around the clock on the ground to optimize system performance and sharpen detection at all toll plazas. Quicker ‘double arm’ lane barriers will also be deployed at plazas with high traffic to ensure traffic flow is faster. A double-arm barrier has two sections, each about half the length of the long single barrier and should open up faster. Additionally, visual RFID detection zones will be painted on the lanes to ensure motorists are able to position their vehicle to ensure optimum detection.
PLUS has also assigned customer service assistants (CSAs) at all 158 RFID lanes at 74 toll plazas to assist customers who are stuck at the lanes, These personnel will have portable detection devices to determine if there is a malfunction of the RFID tags. Motorists whose RFID tag is found to be undetectable will be given a coupon for a full diagnosis at the nearest Touch ‘n Go fitment centre. If the RFID tag still has detection issues after the test, Touch ‘n Go will replace the RFID tag for free.
For motorists’ convenience, there are 24 RFID fitment centres on PLUS highways and 35 at locations outside PLUS highways. PLUS will continue to work with Touch ‘n Go to increase the number of fitment centres to ensure proper tag application by professional personnel.
The government believes that motorists using highways should have a choice of payments, rather than be forced to use only RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification). This was decided after a Cabinet meeting yesterday and was announced by the Prime Minister who was responding to the congestion that was caused when PLUS, the major toll concessionaire in Malaysia, introduced RFID for Electronic Toll Payment (ETP) on the entire length of its North-South Expressway from last Saturday.
Various factors appear to have contributed to the massive congestion, from the reduced number of lanes for other ETP methods (ie the Touch ‘n Go card being tapped on a reader and the contactless SmartTAG with the TnG card) to failure of the RFID sensors to detect the tags on the vehicles, as well as confusion due to some (or all) SmartTAG lanes being converted to RFID lanes. Improper placement of the RFID tags, which are very tiny devices, has also been identified as a possible cause for non-detection and it is possible some of the tags, priced at RM35 (although it is known that they cost less than RM1) each, may be defective.
The two locations for sticking the RFID tags/ They are on the outside surface so they will be exposed and motorists are concerned about durability in the long-term. Care has also to be taken at automatic carwashes where the brushes could damage or even rub off the RFID tag. A replacement costs RM35 at this time.Non-detection of the RFID tag is among the reasons that have caused the massive congestion at toll plazas and PLUS has stationed personnel with handheld devices to check on the device function.
“The Cabinet, in its meeting today, is of the view that road-users must be given a choice, just like how it was practiced when Touch ‘n Go was introduced in its early years and cash payments were still allowed to continue. Users must be given the freedom whether to use RFID, Touch ‘n Go or SmartTAG,” said the Prime Minister.
He said that the toll concessionaires should not make all lanes use only the RFID method. “If there are 10 lanes, maybe several lanes for RFID and the rest should be for TnG and SmartTAG. We don’t want to pressure motorists,” he said, adding that any matter regarding toll payments by Malaysians will need to be referred to the Cabinet.
Like the SmartTAG, the RFID method also allows contactless ETP but uses the radio frequency for its signal instead of infrared (IR) that is used by the SmartTAG (which requires a TnG card to be present in the unit). PLUS claims that RFID offers quicker processing (but the vehicle must not travel faster than 30 km/h through the lane) without the vehicle having to stop for detection. However, the IR system does not require motorists to stop either, as millions of motorists will know. In places like Germany which use the IR system, vehicles can pass under the sensors (no toll plazas needed) at up to 100 km/h because they do not have to stop for the barrier to open.
Toll collection in Germany using the infra-red system similar to that used for the SmartTAG in Malaysia.
“In Germany, the Nationwide Truck Tolling System installed on all highways in a Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) configuration has proven to be highly effective, catering to more than two million trucks travelling at up to 100 km/h. It uses a similar IR technology like in Malaysia to validate payment. We have also successfully replicated this test in Malaysia. Our SmartTAG compatible units comply with DSRC (Dedicated Short-Range Communication) standards and are ECE R10 certified. They operate in the 400THz band and are therefore able to transfer data 10,000 times faster than RFID. Being battery-powered, every unit is active with a wake-up time of just two milliseconds compared to the passive RFID’s 45 milliseconds,” said EFKON Asia, the Austrian technology provider that developed the IR-based toll collection system used on Malaysian highways.
According to PLUS, a SmartTAG lane can allow up to 1,000 vehicles through in an hour (550 with manual tapping). With RFID, PLUS claims that the processing rate can be faster and they state a speed of about 1,200 vehicles an hour. But that claimed quicker rate of processing is nullified since in both methods, vehicles still have to wait for the barrier to rise. Unless there is some innovation that can make the barrier rise faster in the RFID lane than in the SmartTAG lane, the pass-through rate will be the same.
No toll plazas on Singapore roads to cause congestion; motorists pay toll electronically when they enter the Central Business District where there are varying charges throughout the day.
Why does there need to be a barrier when, in other countries, they have already done away with the barrier? In Singapore, for example, their toll collection for the road pricing system (ERP) around the Central Business District is done without barriers and vehicles just drive under gantries and their payment is electronically collected. While the system used is a different type (wireless shortwave), the point is that they do not need barriers which slow down traffic flow. According to PLUS, they still need to have a barrier as there is no legal framework yet to protect their interests.
PLUS is promoting RFID as the first step towards the Multi Lane Free Flow (MLFF) system in future which will have no barriers and therefore eliminate congestion in places where toll has to be collected. However, there is no clear evidence that continued use of the SmartTAG method cannot also achieve MLFF. RFID requires further new investments – not to mention motorists having to spend again to install a new ETP system – whereas the IR system is already in place and runs reasonably reliably.
The toll plaza along the Federal Highway near Subang Jaya which was set up in the 1990s and removed just before the last General Election. Although its removal should have speeded up traffic flow, the situation today seems to be even more congested as traffic builds up more quickly at the bottleneck further down the road (near the Subang Jaya turnoff).
But whether removal of a barrier and even the whole toll plaza will allow traffic to flow more smoothly and remove congestion is uncertain if you look at one example where it has happened. This is the toll plaza near Subang Jaya in Selangor which was set up in the 1990s and then removed some years ago, just before a General Election. It seems that even with no toll collection being done, there is still congestion on that stretch so it is no different from before. In fact, some feel that when there was a toll plaza, at least the traffic flow was regulated and was slightly better on the other side of the toll plaza.
In a consumer society, choices and freedom of choices are important elements. Consumers will choose what they believe to be the best for their needs and in the case of ETP, there will be some who may even prefer cash payment. These could be people living in rural areas who travel on highways infrequently and who do not want their money stuck in some e-wallet, or spend money buying a SmartTAG that they will use only once a month. Many may like the TnG card since it can not only be used for ETP but also for parking and even travel on public transport. The RFID system may have a few advantages but for now, it seems that all it can be used for is ETP, which makes it poor value for money.
On the night of Saturday, January 15, 2022, officials of PLUS gathered to await the first vehicles that would pass through the toll plaza using the RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) method of electronic toll payment (ETP). The ETP ‘system of the future’ had started its pilot run in 2018 and was already in use in certain places in Peninsular Malaysia. It would now be available to motorists travelling on the entire length of the North-South Expressway from Juru in the north to Skudai in Johor.
PLUS was promoting RFID as the successor to the SmartTAG, the infrared (IR)-based contactless method that had been in use for a long time in conjunction with the Touch ‘n Go stored value tollcard. Although the SmartTAG’s IR system has been used longer, it is not necessarily obsolete and in places like Germany, it can handle pass-through speeds of up to 100 km/h (without a barrier being present, of course). However, in spite of the long and big investment in the TnG/SmartTAG systems that have matured and are generally reliable, PLUS has made a decision to again invest in changing to RFID which it says is faster and more efficient, thereby benefitting motorists and reducing congestion.
PLUS also says that adoption of RFID will allow it to move towards, first, a Single Lane Free Flow system and ultimately, a Multi Lane Free Flow (MLFF) system without barriers. MLFF is what Malaysian motorists experience when they drive in Singapore and pass under the ERP (Electronic Road Pricing) gantries where a charge is automatically deducted. It has been in use for a long time although PLUS says that it is not fair to make comparisons as it is not ‘apples compared with apples’.
Prior to January 15, PLUS had announced that RFID would be activated at all its toll plazas from the date and would eventually replace the previous systems. It did not actually say that those existing systems would be stopped on that date but some people misread the announcement and started to spread word through social media that the TnG/SmartTAG system would stop on January 15. This naturally caused an uproar as there are some 5 million SmartTAG devices in use (with 84 million TnG cards sold to date). Apart from a reluctance to switch over by some, there was also the matter of supply and installation.
PLUS had to quickly clarify that the existing systems would still be available and that RFID would be a new and recommended alternative form of ETP at its toll plazas. In other words, there was no need to worry that come January 15, many motorists would be unable to get through the toll plazas if they did not have RFID. Meanwhile, PLUS had to slot in RFID lanes and since the toll plazas are pretty much fixed in width, certain lanes would have to be converted. Perhaps it could have done like in some places where a secondary row is built beyond the original plaza but that would have required additional investment which might not have been acceptable in this early phase of RFID. In any case, they went ahead to convert some lanes, and in some places, SmartTAG lanes were eliminated, leaving only the slower manual system of tapping the card on the reader (about half the pass-through rate compared to RFID).
As the activation of RFID occurred on a Saturday night and the next day was Sunday, which has generally lower traffic volumes on the highways, it seemed that the new system was working fine. Motorists with RFID tags were able to drive through (maximum speed: 30 km/h) and in the same way as with the SmartTAG, the charge would be deducted electronically and the barrier would swing up to allow them to proceed on their way. Even if RFID is claimed to have a faster response time, with that mechanical barrier, it’s hard to see how driving through in the RFID lane could be any faster than the SmartTAG lane.
Then came Monday morning and things looked horribly different. Though we all don’t want the MCO again, motorists caught in the unusually long queues – one said to stretch 10 kms – towards toll plazas must have wished for WFH (work from home) again. Apart from the confusion of lanes having been converted, the absence of SmartTAG lanes in some places would also have frustrated motorists used to having relatively smooth passage through the toll plaza without stopping (albeit in a queue). Now, all those without RFID had to stop and tap manually or if there were some SmartTAG lanes, the queue was longer since some had been taken away for RFID.
Not surprisingly, news of the mess appeared on social media very quickly. To make things worse was the failure of the sensors to detect the RFID tags on some vehicles. This meant that they were stuck in the narrow lane, unable to reverse and let others go ahead. With SmartTAG, if there was a problem of non-detection and reversing was not possible, the driver still has the option of taking the card out and tapping on the reader at the side. 100% of the time, this will bring the barrier up unless the balance is too low.
With social media, particularly Facebook, such happenings become known nationally within a very short time. The PLUS Facebook page was bombarded with complaints and criticisms and individuals also posted pictures of cars being stuck in long jams. Hopefully, employers were understanding enough to accept the explanation for lateness being blamed on PLUS.
Throughout the day and night and up till today, PLUS seemed silent on the matter. In fact, it seemed like the company was indifferent to the matter, which caused more anger, as it spread the ‘positive news’ about the implementation of RFID, and Touch ‘n Go Malaysia even congratulated PLUS on the event. However, Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof did not do the same thing; instead, having become aware of the situation, he directed PLUS to resolve the issues quickly, softening the stern statement by saying that RFID technology is ‘a pioneering technology and there will be several issues that need to be addressed’.
The thing is, RFID as a concept has been around since World War II and since the beginning of this century, the tiny tag (which costs less than RM1 but is sold for RM35) has been used in many different kinds of industries which need a tracking solution, including the transport industry. It could even be considered a mature technology, like the IR technology used for the SmartTAG and whatever local issues there were should have been addressed during the past 3 years that it has been in actual use.
Perhaps in all the trials, the traffic volume was small, so the environment was different from a full-scale deployment. The system might not have been ‘stress-tested’ for continuous rush-hour traffic passing through every second so it may not have been ‘tuned’ to cope. But that’s just speculation on our part, we must add.
Prior to January 15, during a session with the media, PLUS gave assurance that they would be ready for any ‘hiccups’ during implementation and there would be staff on standby to assist if detection failed. While this would be expected for any new system, it is evident from the long queue that there must have been a high failure rate that even that stand-by procedure could not prevent.
There are many reports of owners puzzled and frustrated by their RFID tag not being detected. Unlike the SmartTAG which many hold in their hand and can sometimes be at the wrong angle so the IR beam does not hit the sensor, the RFID tag is in a fixed position – on the top corner of the windscreen or on the headlight. It is stuck on the outside, so it is exposed to the sun and rain and dust. Hopefully, the quality is of the same standard as what carmakers have for their exterior parts as Malaysian motorists are fed up with the lousy quality of roadtax discs that don’t seem to stick properly (and they are on the inside of the glass).
In theory, the RFID tag (if it is working properly) should not fail although the vehicle must not be travelling faster than 30 km/h. It would be hard to go fast anyway with the barrier right in front. PLUS engineers would have done all the testing to determine optimum distances for the sensors and particularly ensuring that there would be no ‘collision’ of signals.
Correct placement of the RFID tag is important.
One thing that might cause the problems is improper placement and from what we have learnt, close proximity to metal surfaces (like the A-pillar) could cause interference and it is possible that some headlight designs might also cause problems. But if the installation was done by authorized professionals, then the placement should have been correct and initially, there were also machines to verify that the tag was working properly.
However, to make things easier, the RFID tags have also been available for sale to the public so they can install it themselves. It’s not really that difficult (like sticking on the roadtax disc) so many may have chosen that option and done it themselves. Some may not have done it properly, hence the problems. So it is best to go to an installation centre and have a professional do it. If it doesn’t work, you can go back and demand rectification or replacement. Otherwise, you have to come out with another RM35 for a new one.
Besides going to the Fitment Centres, motorists can also purchase the RFID tag online and attach it to the headlight or windscreen themselves. The price is the same as at the Fitment Centre but you probably have to pay a delivery charge.
PLUS is well aware of the detection issues and in its announcement today, it said that the personnel will use a handheld device to scan the RFID tag. Should the tag still remain undetectable, a coupon for a full detection diagnosis at a Touch ‘n Go fitment centre will be provided. If the RFID tag still has detection issues after testing, Touch ‘n Go will replace the RFID tag for free. If it is a placement issue, guess you have to spend another RM35 for a new one as the tag is not designed to be removed after being installed.
The fact that the RFID tag, unlike a TnG card, is tied to a specific vehicle has not been well accepted. In our case (which is really a very small group), we test different vehicles regularly. A few companies are kind enough to provide a TnG card to use but most of the time, we just use our own. With a RFID tag, how will we settle the toll charge as the account linked to it is not in our control? It’s an issue we have not figured out yet.
Rental car companies would also be unhappy as they will need to find a way to settle toll charges with the customer as each vehicle they rent has a specific tag. Will they ask the customer to pay a deposit? Or should the customer pay RM35 and buy their own RFID TAG and fix it, which may be troublesome for a tourist who does not have a bank account in Malaysia.
Although the Touch’nGo card was initially only for toll payment, its usage has grown and can today be used to pay for other services such as parking and public transport. Will RFID offer such flexible usage?
The inflexibility of the RFID tag also makes it less appealing to motorists. Over the past 10 years, TnG has been promoted as not only being for toll payment but for an increasing number of services. Malaysians have come to accept it as a convenient form of cashless payment for travelling on public transport and parking. It can be considered a successful implementation of a new payment process and it has a lot of flexibility. For example, you can pass a card to another family member to use. With the RFID tag, it seems that its only use is for ETP and for specific vehicles, unless one day, they say that if you agree to stick it on your face, you can also use it for travel on public transport.
In just two days, PLUS has caused a great deal of anger to those who use its highways but the company seems indifferent to this fact, as can be seen from its statement today. There is not a word of apology for the inconvenience caused but rather a suggestion that the introduction has gone well and they have seen 10% greater usage of RFID.
To make matters worse, our friends at Pandulaju discovered that the company had stopped allowing the public to post comments on its Facebook page. Although the decision was apparently reversed later and comments can be posted, it further angered the public who felt that the company was not willing to face criticism.
Instead, PLUS suggested that the public give them feedback using their own channel on their website and app which is called P.U.T.R.I. and uses a chatbot. This takes all the negative remarks away from the public eye, of course. The chatbot is not really a good thing to use as it is programmed to respond in specific ways, while attempting to give the ‘feel’ of interacting with a human. If you tell ‘her’ that you are unhappy with the RFID system, you will find that the responses will make you tear your hair out. But PUTRI is humble and promises to ‘be smarter’, but just cannot offer help in taking the complaint. [Click here to view an example of interaction with PUTRI]
So what’s going to happen in the coming days? Today being a holiday, traffic has been less but tomorrow, it is likely that many will decide not to risk using the RFID lane and choose the TnG or SmartTAG lanes. As there are now less lanes than before, the jams will be worse than before. The RFID lanes will seem to be the faster route so the ‘optics’ will be good for PLUS which can say ‘those were just teething problems and now you can see that cars pass through fast enough that there are no jams’.
If PLUS has full confidence in the RFID system being superior and has high detection rate, then remove the barriers and let vehicles pass through smoothly, like in Singapore. It will definitely encourage many motorists to switch over.
Admittedly, this article has been critical and we are often told that solutions should also be offered when complaining that something is wrong or not working. So here’s our suggestion: if PLUS is confident with the RFID system, then remove the barrier and allow vehicles to pass through and use the system as it was intended. If detection fails, then it is not the fault of the motorist and PLUS will just have to accept the loss of the toll charge. If nothing else, this would certainly inspire the tech side or the supplier of the system to ensure 99.9% detection since non-detection of too many vehicles would lose a lot of money for the company.
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From January 15, 2022, PLUS will have at least one lane at its toll plazas from Juru in the north to Skudai in Johor using the RFID (Radio-Frequency IDentification) system for collecting toll charges electronically. RFID is not new and has been known to Malaysian motorists since 2018, with early implementation on PLUS highways starting at some toll plazas at the beginning of 2020. Things may have moved faster but the pandemic and actions taken by the government suspending business activities for an extended period probably caused delays.
The use of RFID is the third form of Electronic Toll Payment (ETP) which began with the Touch ’n Go (TnG) tollcard in the 1990s, followed by the SmartTAG. With ETP, motorists could more easily pay their toll without having to interact with cashiers to pass over cash. The system therefore helps to speed up traffic flow through the plazas and also makes toll collection easier for the concessionaires. And in these times when social distancing is important to avoid transmission of COVID-19, ETP is obviously a better way to pay toll.
SmartTAG uses infrared system
While the TnG card requires touching the card with stored value on a reader, the SmartTAG unit takes the information from the card attached to it and sends an infrared (IR) signal (which travels at almost 300 million metres a second) to a transceiver overhead to validate and deduct the amount of toll payable.
It has been in use nationwide since 2005 and although there was a period when users experienced many problems with the slim units, that fault no longer exists and our experience with it has been 100% pass rate. Only on rare occasions has the been a problem and usually it has been due to the signal not being picked up. Most motorists now know to reverse a bit and try again, or just do it the manual way by tapping the TnG card on the reader by the side of the lane.
Complementary and reliable systems
So the TnG manual system and the SmartTAG contactless system are reliable ETP systems and they are complementary, ie the TnG card works with the SmartTAG unit by simply slipping it in. There is no need for the motorist to buy a different type of card, and the TnG card can also be used in many parking areas as well. EFKON Asia, the company making the units, has improved them to be able to also be recharged with a USB cable.
In recent years, some car companies have also installed card readers in their cars which are linked to an IR transmitter that works the same way. According to EFKON Asia, around 75% of the 270,000 new passenger cars and commercial vehicles registered in Peninsular Malaysia (until September 2021) were delivered with either a SmartTAG compatible built-in toll reader or portable device.
With the Touch ‘n Go card, payment of toll no longer required a cashier to collect money and all a motorist had to do was tap the card on a reader. It’s been virtually problem-free and often an alternative to use when the SmartTAG lane is having problems (the same card is used with the device).An early SmartTAG unit which brought contactless payment using infrared technology at toll plazas to communicate with he TnG card. This was a robust unit and many still have it as it was quite reliable, compared to the early slim units that were flawed.The slim unit had a lot of problems initially and it was only many years later that those problems were finally fixed. Today, the units (especially those marketed by EFKON Asia) are reliable enough. There are also devices using the TnG card that can be installed in the dashboard and some carmakers integrate these devices as standard accessories.
Why change something that is not ‘broken’?
There’s a saying (or question) – ‘why fix it if it’s not broken?’ – or more correctly, why change something that works well enough for some 5 million vehicle users around the country? The answer is simply that as the volume of traffic on highways has grown, the flow rate through the toll plazas has slowed. Lines have lengthened, especially during festive seasons. It does not help that the barrier has to be there, slowing the movement since it is a mechanical system. But we’ll get back to why concessionaires still need to use a barrier, even with the SmartTAG and RFID.
According to PLUS, a SmartTAG lane can allow up to 1,000 vehicles through in an hour (550 with manual tapping). It could be faster without the barrier as in places like Germany which use the IR system, vehicles can pass through toll plazas at up to 100 km/h because they do not have to stop for the barrier to open. With RFID, PLUS says that the processing rate can be faster and they state a speed of about 1,200 vehicles an hour.
The RFID tag can be fixed to the headlight or on the top of the windscreen. It is thin enough not to affect the lighting. However, unlike the SmartTAG, it is fixed to each vehicle and cannot be used with other vehicles as each tag is registered with specific vehicle’s details.
However, it is not just the speed of processing that is the reason for PLUS (and other concessionaires) moving towards RFID. In the near-term, the objective is to be able to have Single Lane Free Flow (SLFF) which allows vehicles to pass through a toll plaza without stopping – meaning no barrier to wait for. Of course, you can’t flash through at 110 km/h and will still have to slow down to a low speed not only for the signal to be picked up properly but also for safety. The longer term goal is Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) which will not have a toll plaza at all, and all a motorist will see is a gantry over the highway with some RFID sensors pointing down over each lane. It is a ‘transparent’ and seamless process that will certainly mean smoother flow and, hopefully, no more congestion.
Singapore has had MLFF for some time
Does the MLFF scenario sound familiar? If you have driven to Singapore – as tens of thousands of Malaysians have (at least before the pandemic) over the years – you will have experienced MLFF with their ERP (Electronic Road Pricing) payment system. Besides the fact that toll rates change at different times of the day depending on conditions, there are no toll plazas and traffic just passes under the gantries and the toll is deducted on their electronic payment card attached to an IU (in-vehicle unit), something like a SmartTAG.
The system, which uses shortwave wireless signals, has been operating in Singapore for many years now. Initially, for foreign vehicles (almost all from Malaysia), the issue of how to get payment was resolved by simply making visitors rent an IU (for a S$150 deposit) and use a payment card with stored value. It was a troublesome system as you had to go to some remote place to get the unit and then go back there when you were leaving.
Singapore has had a MLFF system in operation for many years around the island where it has Electronic Road Pricing that varies at different times of the day. Vehicles flow smoothly under the gantries which are equipped with shortwave wireless sensors as well as cameras that recognise numberplates. This is the sort of situation PLUS hopes to reach later on with RFID.An In-Vehicle Unit (IU) which works with a stored value card is installed in every vehicle in Singapore, Foreign vehicles do not need to install it as their numberplate will be detected and a daily charge included with the other charges they must pay upon departure from the country.
Then they came up with a convenient system which would charge a flat rate of SS5 per day if the vehicle passed into an ERP zone at any time during the day. The amount would be added to the charges payable on leaving the country. How do they do it? By using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems that immediately photograph a vehicle without an IU, and log it into the system. They already have details of the vehicle which were provided upon entry at Tuas or Woodlands.
Different countries, different conditions
As mentioned earlier, Singapore (and also some other countries) have had MLFF + ANPR for some time, so why has Malaysia been slow to adopt it? There are various answers although to be fair, each country has different conditions, priorities and situations (and governments) and in the case of Malaysia and Singapore, the island republic is a lot smaller than Peninsular Malaysia. So the pace of infrastructure development and technological advances in systems will also be different in some cases.
It’s like the development of MAS and SIA, both of which originated from the same airline in the 1970s. Both aspired to have a comprehensive international network but MAS had also to do ‘national service’ as it had to provide services for rural areas around the country as well. SIA obviously had no such requirement so it could focus entirely on building its international network from Day 1.
Why take pictures of numberplates?
Why is ANPR needed? This is for various purposes and is actually an advancement for the cameras already used in every lane. Highway concessionaires need to have some sort of record of vehicles passing through, especially if payment is somehow not made (although there is a barrier) and ANPR allows them to also identify the vehicles quickly to take action. Information on the vehicles is already available via the TnG card registration and all vehicles with RFID tags installed would also have their details in the PLUS database. Of course, the company strictly follows the Malaysian Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) which came into force in 2013 so those details are safe.
While the incidence of people not paying toll does not seem to be high – you would have to crash through the barrier – it can still happen and so the barrier is still necessary. Each time someone doesn’t pay, the concessionaire will have to spend time and money to pursue them. It therefore has to become a traffic offence before the concessionaires will feel safe to not have a barrier and that is something that requires a legal framework to enable.
TnG and SmartTAG lanes will still be around
There was a bit of misunderstanding about the full implementation of RFID on PLUS highways next month and some people thought that they will no longer be able to use their TnG and SmartTAGs. This is not the way things are going to happen – certainly not when there are 5 million users of TnG/SmartTAG. It is still a very big number of users to convert and in typical Malaysian fashion, if use of TnG/SmartTAG were to be stopped, many would probably still wait to the second week of January to install their RFID tag!
RFID tags have been available for more than 2 years now so there’s been plenty of time for motorists to install them. PLUS, in support of the government’s objectives of congestion-free infrastructure, is trying to get more people to use RFID so that by the end of 2022, at least 60% of toll collection will be by that method. For now, they are not converting or adding RFID lanes in a hurry as there still needs to be sufficient ‘demand’ and they think that one lane is enough for the time being.
So the remaining lanes will still have the tried-and-reliable methods of payment, ie TnG and SmartTAG. Since the start of the pandemic, PLUS has discouraged interaction with its staff at toll booths as much as possible, asking people to reload their cards at kiosks and the many other places (including convenience stores) that can do it.
The RFID system, being newer, is also linked to the TnG Wallet so users can reload online at any time, an added convenience. In time, more reload options using credit cards and other means will also be available. This would be one of the big differences with the TnG card which is a stored value card and you need to manually reload it.
Remember FastTrak?
RFID is therefore the way of the future and if we want to reach MLFF faster, then more motorists will have to use it. In time TnG/SmartTAG usage may be stopped completely (could be by the end of 2023 according to a deputy minister), forcing motorists to switch over. This situation occurred at least once before with an ETP system called ‘FastTrak’ which was used on the Penchala Link in Kuala Lumpur. It was decided that in order to unify payment systems, only TnG would be used for ETP so FastTrak had to be discontinued. Fortunately, the process was done smoothly and motorists did not have difficulty getting refunds on their remaining stored value in the devices.
The FastTrak system was also used in the 1990s by the concessionaire operating the Penchala Link in Kuala Lumpur. However, it was discontinued to allow a unified payment system with TnG.
Because of the huge base of millions of motorists, it is likely to be a major exercise the day the government forces the matter and stops the use of TnG/SmartTAG. Imagine when millions have to switch and want their money back – and knowing Malaysians, many will do so in the final week!
Infrared system is not necessarily inferior
So for now, motorists can still use their TnG/SmartTAG at toll plazas so don’t worry about hassles during your outstation journeys next year. As to whether it is as obsolete and inefficient as the RFID supporters say, that is debatable. EFKON Asia, which developed the original IR system for ETP using the SmartTAG, is of the view that the present system is ‘well-positioned to help speed up implementation of MLFF and help reduce congestion at toll plazas’. Of course, they would present that view since the end of TnG/SmartTAG would also be the end of their business selling and supporting the units.
“Coupled with continuous product upgrades that has significantly improved the system’s reliability and user experience, it is the ideal and much more advanced staging point to achieve the congestion-free highway objective outlined in the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) Blueprint compared to the fledgling Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) payment system,” said EFKON Asia Director Helmuth Blasch. Mr. Blasch also believes that the authorities and highway concessionaires should look at increasing rather than reducing SmartTAG lanes if the objective was to reduce congestion at toll plazas.
EFKON IR toll collection system installed in Norway.
“In Germany, the Nationwide Truck Tolling System installed on all highways in a Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) configuration has proven to be highly effective, catering to more than two million trucks travelling at up to 100 km/h. It uses a similar IR technology like in Malaysia to validate payment. We have also successfully replicated this test in Malaysia. Our SmartTAG compatible units comply with DSRC (Dedicated Short-Range Communication) standards and are ECE R10 certified. They operate in the 400THz band and, therefore, able to transfer data 10,000 times faster than RFID. Being battery-powered, every unit is active with a wake-up time of just two milliseconds compared to the passive RFID’s 45 milliseconds,” he explained.
Motorists need to see the benefits of RFID
To appeal to motorists, whatever system used will have to show visible benefits – like no long queues. If PLUS is initially providing just one lane for RFID, and aims to push increased usage, then more traffic will flow into that single lane. Before long, there may be queues forming – after all, there is still the barrier to slow traffic – and this would present a negative picture. If motorists see a line as long as that of the SmartTAG lanes, then they may not be convinced that they need to change. After all, both systems are contactless and other than the fact that RFID is connected to an online payment system, there is not much difference in terms of the process of passing through a toll plaza – unless PLUS is willing to be brave enough and not have a barrier. That will definitely make a difference!
The IR system still seems good enough to continue to be used even in countries like Germany, which would certainly have a more advanced infrastructure than Malaysia. It seems to be working well in Malaysia too but, of course, the argument will be that the said 200 more vehicles per hour that can be processed by RFID will become important as traffic volume grows in future. But so long as the barrier is there, it will still influence processing time – who knows how much faster the IR system can be without the barrier?
RFID will dominate eventually
Anyway, it is pointless for motorists to protest against this switch to RFID since it is what PLUS wants to do, what the government supports and the investments necessary have been made or allocated. As a concessionaire, PLUS has the right to impose whatever means of ETP they want and those who want to use their highways will just have to accept it. Ideally, they should have 1 lane for cash (for unusual situations), and the remaining number of available lanes for both an IR system and RFID system (this is talking about moving towards MLFF). Lack of support for the IR system devices will eventually kill it off or the efficiency of RFID that is promised will have more motorists wanting to install it. That would be fair for the medium-term, rather than to stop the IR system within 2 years.
“To bring about MLFF with toll payment but without a toll plaza, as implemented in other countries, highway customers need to migrate to RFID first. The migration process will take a while to give the people the opportunity to adapt to this new toll payment technology,” said Datuk Azman Ismail, Managing Director of PLUS.
With the volume of traffic having grown substantially over the years, toll plazas are a bottleneck along the highways. To eliminate this issue, PLUS and other highway concessionaires are working towards implementing a Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) system. With this system, toll booths won’t be needed any longer as all payments will be totally electronic.
Our highway Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) process started off with a tollcard manually swiped on a reader, progressing to a SmartTAG which uses an infrared beam to transmit the card information to a receiver over the lane. In both cases, the vehicle has to slow down considerably which caused traffic to build up at toll plazas.
The future is RFID – Radio Frequency IDdentification – using a tiny tag stuck on the headlight or windscreen which send a radio signal to a receiver to execute ETC. This allows quicker communication that will speed up the flow of traffic through the toll plaza.
RFID has been available for almost two years now and with PLUS – the largest highway concessionaire – having also adopted the system for its toll plazas this year, its acceptance and usage by motorists has been steadily increasing.
Positive response to pilot run
On July 22, PLUS began a pilot run of accepting ETC by RFID on a closed-toll highway system (this system charges by distance travelled) in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia. All 9 toll plazas from Hutan Kampung all the way to Sungai Dua in the states of Penang and Kedah have lanes dedicated for RFID. It’s clear that the benefits of RFID have appealed to motorists as the penetration has increased from 2.3% two weeks ago to 10% today.
“It is encouraging to see the positive take up of the RFID with a short period of 14 days. I am confident that this will increase as more will see the multiple benefits of this payment solution. The most compelling reason for RFID is that the technology itself propagates physical distancing as compared to the existing card. Once it is linked to your e-wallet, it reduces the probability of being stuck in the toll lane because of insufficient balance and need to physically reload and risk transmission of the coronavirus,” said Datuk Azman Ismail, Managing Director of PLUS.
“We are grateful for the Malaysia Highway Authority’s endorsement of this public pilot. The support by our highway regulator enabling PLUS to proceed with the first 9 designated closed toll plazas namely Hutan Kampung, Alor Setar Utara, Alor Setar Selatan, Pendang, Gurun, Sungai Petani Utara, Sungai Petani Selatan, Bertam and Sungai Dua, is a testament of the promise that the other remaining closed toll highways will be primed for RFID very soon,” Datuk Azman added.
The tiny RFID tag can be installed on the windscreen or the headlight.Besides going to the Fitment Centres, motorists can also purchase the RFID tag online and attach it to the headlight or windscreen themselves. The price is the same as at the Fitment Centre but you probably have to pay a delivery charge.
Mindset shift necessary
PLUS, however, recognises that to embrace the RFID technology will require a level of mindset shift. For one thing, motorists will have to make use of the Touch’NGo eWallet which means they must have a smartphone or tablet (which can connect to the internet). Data from the RFID tag is linked to the Touch‘NGo eWallet and reloading can therefore be done online. This is more convenient than having to look for a reload kiosk or outlet to top-up the balance.
Eligible motorists can apply for the PENJANA economic package offered by the government where RM50 reloads will be transferred into successful applicants’ eWallets. However, this benefit does not apply to SmartTAG and Touch‘NGo card.
ETC is still accepted by Touch‘NGo cards and SmartTAGs at all PLUS toll plazas. However, at smaller toll plazas with limited lanes, SmartTag lanes were replaced with dedicated RFID lanes, but the card can still be used at the Touch‘NGo lanes. This will also apply with nationwide roll-out of RFID soon.
