Autosweep and EasyTrip RFIDs to undergo interoperability testing

The Department of Transportation (DOTr), SMC TPLEX Corp., Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), and NLEX Corporation are now in the process of testing interoperability for the Autosweep and EasyTrip RFIDs. 

A memorandum of agreement was signed to test the two RFID formats. North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX), and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) are the highways that will serve as the testing grounds for interoperability. A total of 45 vehicles with different classifications will be involved in the testing and each will have an Autosweep RFID with a linked EasyTrip account or an EasyTrip RFID linked to an Autosweep account. 

The testing period will last a total of 14 days, and to document, participating vehicles will be equipped with dashcams, and supplemental reports will need to be filled to further detail the testing. The key metric that is of note in the testing phases is the read-rate percentage which will indicate if the system can detect an RFID that is interoperable between tollways consistently. This is a metric of reliability as well, so motorists don’t have to go out of their vehicles or roll down the windows and present their cards to pay for the toll fee. The test results will then be processed within 5 days to determine the read-rate percentage. 

DOTr Secretary, Arthur Tugade, in the post, expressed his appreciation for the toll operators and this program. 

The testing also should be able to squash any bugs and problems that either EasyTrip or Autosweep have between the two systems. Interoperability will mean that only one RFID tag will be needed when going either through all of the tollways leading out of Metro Manila. Sooner or later, only one RFID sticker will be needed between both toll systems for a more seamless system.