The RFID technology is set to replace TnG cards and eliminate stop time at toll booths

By P PREM KUMAR & DASHVEENJIT KAUR / Pic By MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

The government plans to launch the radio-frequency identification (RFID) at toll gates next year and the Transport Ministry is discussing with Touch ‘n Go Sdn Bhd (TnG) to distribute the electromagnetic tags early next year.

The RFID tags would be distributed for free to all Malaysian vehicles, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

The RFID technology is set to replace TnG cards and eliminate stop time at toll booths.

Abdul Aziz said the government is seeking to implement the system at all toll roads nationwide with the testings of the technology already underway.

“The TnG e-wallet system is being developed to allow payment of road charges through RFID tags linked to the TnG e-wallet account, compared to the usage of physical cards presently,” he said.

The deputy minister was responding to a query from Sekijang MP Anuar Abdul Manap who asked the government to state the update on RFID implementation in the country.

TnG is owned by CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, MTD Equity Sdn Bhd and PLUS Malaysia Bhd. It has over 20 million cards in circulation as at Dec 31, 2017.

Abdul Aziz said the RFID technology will be used to enforce the vehicle entry permit (VEP) at the Johor-Singapore border gates this month.

“TnG’s e-wallet system has been developed to enable road charge payments via RFID tags by using the TnG e-wallet without using the card as it is now.

“Currently, the VEP system is undergoing testing along with the TnG e-wallet system for road charges, and the implementation of VEP at the Johor Causeway and Second Link is expected to commence at the end of April 2018,” he said.

Abdul Aziz said currently, some 450,000 vehicles from Singapore are entering Malaysia every month, which could allow the government to collect RM150 million in monthly road charges.

He said after the implementation of RFID tags in the Johor-Singapore border, a similar method will be implemented in the Malaysia-Thailand border gates later this year.

“The ministry has also proposed to implement RFID technology that could detect cloned vehicles and identify outstanding summonses on local vehicles early next year,” he said. The RFID implementation has been a long-term strategy of the government, which began with more concessionaires migrating to cashless operations since 2015.

Going cashless, or full electronic toll collection (ETC), was a way forward that had been identified to manage the migration to RFID implementation.

The Malaysian Highway Authority has enforced the implementation of the ETC system at all 31 highways and 177 toll plazas in the country early last year.