For years, Malaysians have been promised Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) tolls, similar to Singapore’s Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantries. This barrier-less system is being touted as a panacea to toll plaza congestion, avoiding key problems like a lack of Touch ‘n Go balance, dead SmartTAG batteries and unreliable toll collection systems (I’m looking at you, RFID).
Last we heard, the implementation of MLFF had been pencilled in for 2025, but it seemed like there was no movement in that project. However, Works Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi tweeted today that he had met with all 32 highway concessionaires, as well as other stakeholders in Malaysia’s tolled highway industry to get their feedback on the system.
“Overall, all industry players were receptive to the implementation of MLFF and a number of details regarding this system are being refined to ensure the best delivery of the service to consumers,” he said. “I will share more soon.”
Nanta did not provide any specifics such as a timeline for its introduction, but his predecessor Fadillah Yusof was the one who outlined the 2025 plan last year, which may or may not have changed with the arrival of the current government. Fadillah also said the system would work with RFID tag readers together with automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), like the kind currently employed on PLUS Malaysia’s highways.
The introduction of MLFF would also mark the end of Touch ‘n Go’s monopoly over toll collection, Fadillah added, as the system would work with any digital payment provider. It would also coincide with the retirement of the Touch ‘n Go card and the phasing out of SmartTAG lanes. We previously outlined the key steps each of the three major players in the current government—Nanta, Transport Minister Anthony Loke and Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim—need to take in order to facilitate the implementation of MLFF.
