"It has nothing to do with toll tariffs. The tariff has its own calculation," he clarified in Jakarta on Tuesday.
According to the minister, contactless toll payment does not burden the Toll Road Business Entity (BUJT) and toll road users because it only changes the payment mechanism.
Furthermore, the ministry will implement SLFF at the end of this year as a step toward the Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) payment scheme.
The difference between SLFF and MLFF lies in the number of road sections. As the name suggests, MLFF uses many lanes, while SLFF only uses one lane, which can be used by toll users through contactless payment, he explained.
Meanwhile, the president director of PT Roatex Indonesia Toll System (RITS), Attila Keszeg, said that his party, as the implementing business entity (BUP) of the MLFF program, is ready to implement the new payment scheme starting from the fourth quarter of this year.
He noted that congestion at toll gates poses a challenge to economic progress. The implementation of a contactless cashless toll payment scheme could help improve the economic potential of Indonesia.
"Data from the World Bank in 2019 showed that economic losses in Indonesia due to traffic jams amounted to US$4 billion per year. A feasibility study conducted by Roatex in 2020 showed that congestion at toll gates resulted in economic losses in Indonesia of more than US$300 million every year," Keszeg disclosed.
MLFF, which is based on a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), is not a solution that can be operated independently, he added. The scheme is very complex and must be prepared well, starting with technology, regulations, and collaboration with other relevant stakeholders.
According to Minister Hadimuljono, the imposition of sanctions against people who have not registered for the Fast Without Stop (Centas) application for availing the contactless toll scheme is an effort to apply the law to change people's behavior.
However, fines will not be issued immediately. People who have not registered on Centas will be diverted first to use toll gates with a tapping payment system, he added.
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Translator: Ahmad Muzdaffar, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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