Trucks get green light to use AutoExpreso toll payment system
The AutoExpreso sticker will be available for truckers.
As several of the island’s main toll plazas prepare to go completely cashless on Saturday, the Department of Transportation and Public Works announced that, for the first time, trucks will be allowed to use the “AutoExpreso” electronic payment system.
The two toll plazas in Caguas, as well as the ones in Guayama, Salinas and Ponce will become fully automated, Transportation Secretary Rubén Hernández Gregorat said last week.
By allowing truckers to go through the automated tolls, thus making it easier for them to transport goods.
“This is the first time truckers will have the benefit of using AutoExpreso. This is our acknowledgement to those workers responsible for transporting cargo and goods to every corner of the island, reason why they must travel constantly on our highways,” said Hernández Gregorat during a morning news conference at the Salinas weigh station.
During the announcement, the public servant met with Luis Falcón, president of the Authentic Transportation Confederation, at the Caguas Norte toll to witness the first trucks to use the AutoExpreso system. Several truck drivers were able to register their vehicles and use the AutoExpreso chip-embedded sticker that is placed on the front windshield. The device debits the amount of the toll from the account-holder’s balance.
The cost of the AutoExpreso kit for truckers is $20, of which $10 cover the cost of the sticker, while the remaining balance is put into the user’s account to be used at the toll plazas.
As of July 30, truckers will be able to drive through lanes marked with the letter “T,” Hernández Gregorat said.
“This will do away with the need to travel with large amounts of money and have to stop, which represents a reduction in travel time, lower vehicle maintenance costs, saving fuel, and less environmental contamination,” he said.
Truckers who only occasionally pass through the cashless toll plazas, and do not wish to sign up to AutoExpreso, have the option of using the “MóvilCash” debit card, which they must recharge with the desired amount at the designated toll lanes.
