[ UPDATE 16/12/2021 12:00 ] Works Ministry has announced that all toll highways on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia are RFID-ready on 15 January 2022.
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Following its deployment of RFID with Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system in the northern region, PLUS will be integrating RFID at all of its highway toll plazas by early next year. According to The Star, there will be at least one RFID lane for each toll plaza on their highways. PLUS originally planned to implement RFID at all remaining 83 closed-toll plazas last year but it was delayed due to the movement control order.
RFID is a cashless payment method that uses a sticker that’s attached to your vehicle’s headlamp or windscreen. Unlike SmartTAG, RFID doesn’t require a battery and physical Touch ‘n Go (TNG) card to reload, as the toll charges will be deducted directly from your Touch ‘n Go eWallet. This eliminates the need of queuing up to top up the physical TNG card and you can top up your eWallet conveniently on your phone or set it to auto-reload with your prefered credit or debit card.
Teras Teknologi Sdn Bhd CEO Anwar Ishak told The Star that the TNG RFID system will be rolled out together with the ANPR system. The RFID and ANPR allow a faster pass-through speed of 30km/h which is higher than SmartTAG’s rated 20km/h. He said the ANPR acts as a secondary layer of identification to avoid penalising motorists who accidentally use a different payment method to enter the highway and it can help solve payment disputes.
While it uses high-resolution cameras and AI to work, Kang said human intervention would be required if the number plate is damaged, dirty, or using a non-standard design. He shared that the cost of implementing RFID is lower than SmarTAG once it was scaled up as it used fewer proprietary systems. He added that the rate of replacing SmartTAG lanes will be depended on the adoption rate of motorists. PLUS has stopped selling SmartTAG device since 2018. The government targets to introduce Multi-Lane Free-Flow (MLFF) highway with RFID by 2026.
Teras Technology is a subsidiary of PLUS that handles payment solutions for highways and also public transport. They have been involved in the implementation of Touch ‘n Go and SmartTAG payment systems as well as other payment systems in other countries.
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