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CONFUSED and wary best sum up the reactions of motorists passing through the Sungai Rasau and Batu Tiga toll plazas along Federal Highway on the first two days after toll collection was abolished at these two spots in Klang and Shah Alam respectively.
Motorists were seen slowing down as they approached the toll booths, unsure if there was indeed no more payments required to use the previously tolled sections of the highway.
In some SmartTAG lanes, vehicles were seen nearly bumper-to-bumper as drivers slowed down, while some motorists in the Touch ‘n Go lanes stopped to scan their cards.
Though news and notices were carried on the abolishment of the Sungai Rasau and Batu Tiga toll plazas, motorist were still seen trying to scan their Touch ‘N‘ Go card at a booth.
Signal lights above each toll booth were still functioning and this, too, added to the confusion among motorists.
While there are giant banners announcing the toll abolishment being placed prominently at the plazas, they are hung on the opposite direction of traffic flow, as such many failed to notice.
Hesitant drivers caused a slight delay at the toll plazas but traffic was generally a breeze yesterday morning even as more people opted to use the highway now to get in and out of Klang and Shah Alam.
Jacqueline James, 31, a consultant engineer, said she spotted a number of motorists who were confused and slowed down traffic for others.
Vehicles were bumper-to-bumper sporadically when approaching booths at the Batu Tiga toll plaza.
“I actually saw some people who had stopped to pay at the toll booths and only then realised that no payment was necessary,” she said.
The toll abolishment will mean less travel expenses for Jacqueline, who lives in Kuala Lumpur and works in Shah Alam.
The toll at Batu Tiga was RM1.10, while Sungai Rasau was RM1.
Straight through: Motorists pleased to discover there is no more toll collection at Batu Tiga, Shah Alam. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star
Iona Tan, 27, who goes through the Sungai Rasau toll on her way to Puchong for work, said she saw many slowing down on the highway as they approached the toll plaza, probably because the green lights were still on.
She said her journey was smooth with no traffic crawl at 8.10am but overall, traffic was sparse.
However, some people believe traffic will increase by the end of the week or by Monday next week once parents are back to work as well.
M. Prithi, 27, who commutes daily from Pinggiran USJ to Ara Damansara in Petaling Jaya via the Federal Highway said traffic was still light on the roads since most parents had taken leave from work at the start of the new school term.
“More people are bound to use the Federal Highway now that it is toll-free, so I am anticipating heavy traffic later this week. Today, was quiet so we cannot use the day’s traffic condition as a yardstick,” she added.
Many took to social media to express happiness while others complained about the lack of notices at the tolls.
She also had not noticed the banner that was hanging on the opposite lane, and suggested more effort must be put into informing drivers of the toll abolishment.
On Twitter, users rejoiced in having a toll-free route and also shared about their experiences travelling along the highway.
A Twitter user, Andy, confessed that he was one of them that stopped to pay at the toll.
@raisrzk said it was “funny when cars stopped at the Batu Tiga toll and panicked over the ‘tidak beroperasi’ (not in operation) sign.”
He said confused motorists who did not pay attention to the news, caused an unnecessary traffic congestion.
Meanwhile, Iman Tanita al Ghul tweeted “in Malaysia, honking is usually accompanied by anger. Just now, people were happy to honk as they passed the Batu Tiga Toll.”
Twitter user Iskandar Putra observed that there were many motorists who needed to adjust to the change.
Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) director-general Datuk Ismail Md Salleh said MHA would consider placing security guards and personnel to remind motorists that payment was unnecessary.
He said they were also worried about accidents in the event cars slowing down, forcing unsuspecting cars behind to crash into them.
A notice of closure put up at the Batu Tiga Toll customer service centre.
“However, we believe this will only be for a week until people get used to the new routine. In the meantime we will do what is necessary to facilitate smooth traffic flow,” he added.
Ismail estimated a minimum of 10% increase in traffic along this highway.
He said the highway authority would monitor traffic flow throughout this week and decide if they needed to close off all gates except for three to properly channel approaching traffic.
He said MHA would revert the toll plaza multi-lane to the original three lanes to avoid bottlenecks at the affected stretch when the toll booths were removed.
“We have already initiated the process of calling for tender for the job of demolishing the plaza.
“We expect the demolition to be completed within three months, since we can only carry out work in stages due to the high traffic volume,” he added.
At each toll booth at the Batu Tiga toll, a ‘tidak beroperasi‘ sign is displayed to indicate the end of toll collection but some drivers misunderstood it as a malfunction.
The cost of dismantling and demolition work will be borne by PLUS Malaysia Berhad.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced the abolishment of the Batu Tiga and Sungai Rasau tolls during the Budget 2018 on Oct 27, last year.
PLUS Malaysia Berhad issued a statement thereafter to clarify that based on the 2011 revised concession agreement, toll collection was scheduled to end on Dec 31, 2038, 20 years ahead of schedule.
PLUS upgraded the 45km Federal Highway to six lanes in 1992.
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