DOTC orders 10% rollback in Skyway toll fees

from ABS-CBN News

MANILA - A 10-percent cut in toll fees at the Skyway is set to take effect within three days based on a recent order of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

According to DOTC Undersecretary Anneli Lontok, the rollback in toll fees will provide relief to motorists who are dealing with the heavy traffic at the South Super Hiway because of ongoing construction works.

Lontok said they would try to bring down toll fees by up to 15 percent.

Upon implementation of the toll fee cut, class 1 vehicles (cars, jeepneys, and vans) traveling from Magallanes to Bicutan will be charged P26 instead of the old fee of P30. Those going to Sucat from Bicutan will only have to pay P16 instead of P18 while those traveling from Sucat to Alabang will be charged P17 from the earlier P15.

The second stage of the Skyway project is now being constructed, narrowing inner and outer lanes of the South Super Hiway. The project will extend the existing 9.5-kilometer Buendia-Bicutan elevated toll road by another 7 kilometers from Bicutan to Alabang. It is slated for completion in two years.

The Skyway 2 will be linked to the Alabang viaduct, which connects to the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), the main thoroughfare to the provinces south of Manila.

Several commuters' groups have also lobbied for the reduction in SLEX toll fees, but Lontok said this is not possible at the moment because developer Philippine National Construction Corp. has just implemented a rollback in fees. - Report from Zen Hernandez, ABS-CBN New