Since the start of the ‘holiday rush’ NLEX Corporation has been on the top of things given the reactivation of its “Safe Trip Mo, Sagot Ko” (SMSK) motorists assistance program.
SMSK, which started on December 22, 2023 aims to enhance expressway services and provide a safer and more convenient travel experience. This edition of the program will run until January 2, 2024.
To ensure the effectiveness of the SMSK program, NLEX Corporation has since deployed over 1,500 traffic, toll, and systems personnel. These personnel will be strategically positioned throughout the expressways to increase patrol visibility and assist at toll plazas. In addition, emergency medical services and incident response teams have been readily available at key locations. To address customer concerns, the customer service hotline 1-35000 and NLEX Corporation’s social media pages (@NLEXexpressways) have been in full force, 24/7.
“This is the first Christmas and New Year where Filipinos will be able to celebrate without a state of public health emergency. Please plan your trips well as we expect high traffic volume during these days,” advised NLEX Corporation President and General Manager, J. Luigi Bautista.
Anticipating high traffic volume, NLEX Corporation has identified several major toll plazas where congestion is expected during specific dates:
Balintawak, Mindanao, and Tarlac: December 22 (around noontime) until late evening of December 23, and noontime of December 29 until late evening.
Tarlac: December 25, 26, and January 1.
Bocaue: Early afternoon until midnight of December 25 and 26, morning of December 27, afternoon until midnight of December 29, and noontime of January 1 until late morning of the following day.
To ensure smoother traffic flow, NLEX-SCTEX assures the availability of all its lanes on these dates. Unless emergency safety repairs are necessary, construction and lane closures along the mainline road of the NLEX-SCTEX have been suspended since December 15. Traffic management teams closely monitor chokepoint areas, including the Harborlink, Meycauayan, Bocaue, Candaba Viaduct, San Simon, San Fernando, Dau, Mabalacat ramps, and the TSFs.
To complement the traffic management measures, NLEX-SCTEX is providing free towing services to the nearest exit for class 1 vehicles on specific dates: from 6:00 am of December 22 to 6:00 am of December 24; 6:00 am of December 26 to 6:00 am of December 27, 2023; and 6:00 am of December 30 to 6:00 am of January 2, 2024. Regular traffic updates will be posted on NLEX Corporation’s social media pages, and live traffic situations at key areas will be streamed 24/7 on Facebook.
Furthermore, NLEX Corporation reminds motorists that all toll plazas are still 100% RFID as part of the Toll Regulatory Board’s cashless toll transaction dry run. Motorists are advised to obtain an Easytrip RFID for faster toll transactions and ensure sufficient load balance before traveling to avoid inconvenience.