Yet more on the ongoing topic surrounding electronic toll collection, with the government now saying that it is planning to end the use of Touch ‘n Go (TnG) cards – and the phasing out of SmartTAG – for toll payment by 2025. At that point, the current system of toll collection will be replaced by a multi-lane free flow (MLFF) system, and users will be allowed to pay for toll using their choice of digital payment, Free Malaysia Today reports.

The new timeframe is an extension from that mentioned previously, when it was said that the government was looking to stop the use of TNG and SmartTAG by the end of 2023. The FMT report added that it is estimated that there are more than 20 million TnG cards in circulation currently, with nearly 91% of all card transactions being for toll payments on the 31 highways across the country.

In an interview with the news portal, works minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said that highway concessionaires have been told to prepare for the implementation of the MLFF by 2025. The MLFF is a barrier-free tolling system utilising a gantry structure without designated booths or lanes. Toll payment will be collected via RFID, working together with an automated number plate recognition (ANPR) system.

He said that users will have the freedom to choose how they want to make their toll payment digitally. “Soon, it will be up to the public to use any digital mode of payment, whether you want to use Touch ‘n Go e-wallet or debit or credit card or Visa or Mastercard or any kind of (electronic) payment system, as long as there’s a link available on a (particular) highway,” he told FMT.

Fadillah said the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) was trying to make it more convenient for motorists to make their toll payment. “We have been listening to the people’s demand to open more (online payments) and we are aware that people have been complaining that they have to pay in advance for Touch ‘n Go whether they are using (the highway) or not,” he explained.

Asked about the readiness of highway concessionaires to implement MLFF, he said that if there were delays by some concessionaires, the government would consider a private investment model or private finance initiatives to take over the MLFF system.

“The private investment model is for an open system. As you can see there are many highways in the country and all the systems need to be integrated. If we look at Singapore and Taiwan, they have a single authority control [over their systems],” he said.

On the topic of ANPR, he said the system was being trialled in a pilot project at the Kajang-Seremban Highway (LEKAS). “We are also looking at a proposal for a public-private partnership or PFI, subject to further discussion with the Lekas concessionaire and another pilot project at Besraya Highway soon,” he added. ANPR is also being utilised by PLUS on its RFID lanes.

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