Highway users can now utilise the MyDebit terminals to pay their toll fares through debit or credit cards at the Putrajaya toll plaza on the Maju Expressway (MEX) starting today. This was revealed by works minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi during a press conference after a visit to monitor the testing of the Open Payment System (OPS) at the location yesterday.
Just in case you missed it, users on social media prior to this have discovered that the MyDebit terminals installed at the Putrajaya toll plaza have recently begun accepting payments through the aforementioned methods. While there were no prior announcements regarding their activation, suspicions of the system’s trial ahead of the planned nationwide rollout in September was confirmed by Nanta’s visit yesterday. With this, MEX is officially the first highway in Malaysia to have the OPS system available to the public, albeit at just one of its three toll plazas.
However, the works minister noted that only six lanes at the Putrajaya toll plaza are offering the MyDebit service for the time being. He assured that the full implementation, which is planned to be rolled out in stages throughout September 2023, will see all 25 Touch ‘n Go lanes at Salak Selatan, Putrajaya and Seri Kembangan toll plazas along the MEX highway to feature the system.
Next month’s rollout will also see the full implementation of OPS to 11 other highways in Malaysia, including the Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway (AKLEH), Guthrie Corridor Expressway (GCE), Sungai Besi Expressway (BESRAYA), New Pantai Expressway (NPE), Penang Bridge (JPP), Butterworth-Kulim Expressway (BKE), Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP), Western Kuala Lumpur Traffic Dispersal Scheme (SPRINT), Shah Alam Expressway (KESAS), SMART Tunnel, and Duta-Ulu Klang Expressway (DUKE). Nanta said the system will cover 31 toll plazas and 81 lanes in total.
“KKR is always informed from time to time about the level of readiness and progress of testing which is now being carried out in stages by the Malaysian Highways Authority (LLM) together with the highway concession company,” the minister said during yesterday’s press conference. “The implementation of the Open Toll Payment System should be carried out carefully and in detail taking into account the various processes involved such as technical aspects, security, legislation and the handling of the toll transaction record itself to ensure the comfort and safety of highway users is always prioritised.”
Nanta also advised highway users to ensure to have sufficient debit/credit balance at all times before getting on tolled highways, as well as prepare an alternative payment method (ie: TnG cards) should transactions through MyDebit terminals fail for whatever reason. Interestingly, a photo shared by the works ministry’s official Facebook page (shown above) reveals that the MyDebit terminals appear to also accept other cashless-based payment methods, including via e-Wallets. It is unclear whether this is actually the case, as the minister himself previously noted that such approaches are still under study and would only be included much later after the OPS is fully implemented.
(Source: Alexander Nanta Linggi [Facebook] / Works Ministry [Facebook] / Bernama)
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Telegram for more updates and breaking news.
