WE have to give it to the top brass at the North Luzon Expressway (Nlex). One, they don’t stop thinking of reinventing themselves in such a manner that they are always after the welfare of our motorists.
Two, they find time always to rack their brains trying to make travel for everyone smooth and virtually trouble-free.
Is this still a result of the gripe of Senate President Franklin M. Drilon arising from his getting stalled for hours at the Nlex at the height of a holiday-break gridlock a while back?
OK, on to the toll booths again.
Always, there is traffic there. After an almost comfort-laden trip on the smooth, world-class expressway, you suddenly find yourself inconvenienced by the long queues entering and exiting the road network.
A new system designed to ease tension, stress and pressure at toll booths has been devised and in full operation to collect toll (not toll fees as that is redundancy; toll is a fee already—as in, it is also wrong to say pizza pie because pizza is a pie already.)
So that now, during peak hours at Nlex, motorists may see ambulant toll tellers speeding up payment transactions done in—hold your breadth—eight seconds flat!
Deploying PDAs (personal digital assistants), the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) has speeded up payments by motorists, as well as the issuance of receipts by those manning the booths. Chopped down was 22 precious seconds from the old process of paying manually, lasting 30 seconds.
MNTC is the builder and concessionaire of the 94-kilometer Nlex from Balintawak, Quezon City, to Angeles City.
Thus, I tip my hat off to MNTC President Rodrigo E. Franco, whose introduction of 20 portable computerized systems at the Nlex has gained desired impeccable results in dealing with long lines at peak hours or during holidays.
Listen to Franco: “We automated our ambulant toll-teller transactions to minimize queuing at the toll plazas during peak hours, and to assure our motorists to continue experiencing smooth and speedy toll transactions at the Nlex.”
As envisioned by Franco, the portable device addresses the inconveniences involved in processing manual receipts, and enhances efficiency and accuracy in dealing with such transactions.
The system works by touching the screen or by using a stylus. The PDA can read transit tickets by simply swiping such ticket through the PDA. It also prints Bureau of Internal Revenue-approved lane receipts.
I’ve experienced the system when I drove my friend’s elegant Lexus RX350 to Baguio just a while back. I think it will draw praise from no less than Senator Drilon.
Banawe blues
THE car-shop business in Banawe, Quezon City, is giving Banaue up north a bad name.
While Banaue in the mountains gives the country a good name worldwide with Banaue’s famous rice terraces, Banawe in Quezon City. has been giving the automotive industry a big black-eye all this time for coddling many dealers of fake and stolen car parts and accessories. But to be fair, not all shops selling car parts and accessories in Banaue, Quezon City, are fake-infested.
However, it is almost a given that many in Banawe are engaged in imitation trading. Likewise, many of the shops are perceived to be also selling stolen car parts. Only the naïve will not believe; also the police, for the obvious reason that they literally make themselves blind when asked for help to right a wrong in Banawe, Quezon City.
If you ask me, the anti-fencing law never exists in Banawe. The police, if you make a query on it, will tell you in-your-face: “What is that? Isn’t that Goma Gomez’s favorite sport before he switched to golf?”
I bet you, many traders there also mock the anti-fencing law, which stipulates that both seller and buyer of stolen goods are liable for damages and could land them in jail.
But then, who cares?
I have yet to see a trader in Banaue, Quezon City, get caught, tried in court and convicted for selling stolen items.
A world wonder
WHERE is Banaue up in the mountains again?
It is that almost sacred place where the world-famed rice terraces are founded, and considered one of the seven wonders of the world.
Today, the Banawe that many know is the one in Quezon City, where trading of fake and stolen car parts and accessories is as rampant as raiding the public coffers by most of our officials sworn to protect and spend public funds for the common good.
Try going to Banaue, Quezon City. Eternally, it is crawling with hawkers mostly trying to flag you for car-tinting. You need to drive very, very carefully to wriggle out of virtual bedlam every single day of the week.
The same Banawe, according to Dino Datu, is clogged to the max, what with car shops extending their territories to the road to ply their trade—making smooth travel for motorists there almost an impossibility.
PEE STOP. World No. 1 automaker Toyota celebrated yesterday its “One Million Milestone” to mark its 1-millionth unit sold this year since Toyota Motor Philippines resurfaced under new owner George Ty in 1989. As part of its celebration, Toyota has chopped down a savings of P63,000 for a Vios 1.3 JM/T model, P50,000 Vios E A/5 and a monthly installment of only P6,087 for Vios 1.3 J M/T. The promo is up to July 31…Yesterday, too, was the birthday of MJM Sadiwa, Ricky’s wife and the mother of Mayasoh and Ikap. Cheers for beers!
1 comment
If NLEX management really like to improve their service and at the same time relieve the express way traffic, one of the improvements they need to do is to refocus the effort of the NLEX traffic officers from apprehending speeders running beyond 100KPH to prodding slow cars to move away from the inner lane.
In line with this, management can put up very conspicuous signs even with blinking lights (to emphasize importance) at entrances to catch the attention of all passing motorist to use the inner lane only for overtaking. Those vehicles running at the inner lane beyond the speed limit must be tolerated and not apprehended to expedite unloading of vehicles from the highway.