LTO vows to end crime, pollution with RFID

EFFECTIVE October 2009 the Land Transportation Office (LTO) will implement a cutting edge technology that will revolutionize motoring and land transportation in the country. The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology will be used to enhance and speed up the vehicle registration process while providing the motoring public with many benefits that will greatly improve land transportation in the country. RFID is a cutting edge technology that uses radio waves to identify vehicles and related information remotely and in real time. The use of this technology will allow the LTO and other law enforcement agencies to access vehicle information to aid in traffic management, law enforcement and crime prevention. Among the many benefits that this technology will provide motorists and commuters are: First, the system is expected to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the LTO’s law enforcement capabilities, effectively improving traffic conditions via the apprehension of frequent violators and out-of-the-line vehicles. Second, air pollution will be lessened as the system will eradicate the practice of non-appearance of vehicles subject to smoke emissions testing, effectively barring smoke belchers from the streets. Third, legitimate Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) operators and drivers as well as commuters will be well-protected as the RFID will be able to identify and verify franchise records, thus keeping colorums off the road. And finally, it can serve as a major deterrent against carnapping because law enforcers will have access to information on possible “hot” vehicles in real time. “The RFID technology will revolutionize land transportation in the Philippines. This is a great first step in putting order in our streets,” said Assistant Secretary Arturo Lomibao. The new system involves the tagging of a sticker on all vehicles. The sticker contains a microchip that will store vehicle information but is completely tamper proof and can only be retrieved by authorized LTO personnel and law enforcers. Motorists will only pay a one-time tagging fee of P350 as they register their vehicles. The LTO RFID tag is expected to last for ten years, which means that the RFID effectively costs just P35 per year. This is considerably less expensive compared to the more than P1,500 paid for other RFID technologies such as the e-pass and ec-tag. “We are confident of the enormous benefits this technology will provide to the public in general and enjoin our motorists to have their vehicles tagged with the RFID beginning October of this year,” Lomibao added. RFID technology has been used to manage traffic and vehicular registries in the United States, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and other countries. The LTO RFID tags will be available at all LTO offices beginning October 1, 2009. By: Jun Icban-Legaspi - JOurnal online