TPLEx users to pay toll fees starting Jan 18

SHORTER TRAVEL TIME. TPLex cuts travel time to northern Luzon. Photo by Carmela Fonbuena

MANILA, Philippines – Starting January 18, motorists using the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx) will pay toll fees, after the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) gave San Miguel Corporation (SMC) the go signal to charge toll road users.

The toll rates, inclusive of value-added tax, for Segment 3, Section 1 (Gerona to Paniqui) of TPLEx are as follows:

Class 1 vehicles include cars, motorcycles, and jeepneys. Class 2 vehicles include buses and light trucks, while Class 3 vehicles refer to trucks with more than 2 axles.

The fees were based on the Toll Concession Agreement among TRB, SMC’s Private Infra Development Corporation, and the Department of Public Works and Highways, said TRB executive director Atty. Edmund Reyes Jr. in a Notice of Toll Rate Implementation.

Motorists could file a petition for review within 90 days from publication of the implementation notice, added Reyes.

President Benigno Aquino III formally opened on December 23, 2013 the 23-kilometer Tarlac City-Paniqui section of the expressway in an inaugural drive-through.

The first phase of the expressway – from Tarlac City to Gerona – was partially opened in October. Currently under construction is the Paniqui-Moncada section of the toll road.

Once completed, the P23.8-billion TPLEx project will stretch up to Rosario, La Union. It will cut motorists' travel time to one hour, from the current 3 hours.

San Miguel earlier announced that the whole 88.85-kilometer length of TPLEx would be completed by 2015, or 3 years earlier than the original target. – Rappler.com