SHAH ALAM, Jan 9 — Motorists on the North-South Expressway (NSE) will now enjoy greater flexibility at toll plazas with the introduction of “lane freedom” under the Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) open payment toll system, following the launch of a pilot project by PLUS Malaysia Bhd.
The pilot, which involves private vehicles along the Hutan Kampung-Sungai Dua stretch, marks a key step towards the future implementation of the Multi Lane Fast Flow (MLFF) toll system.
“Under the initiative, registered users are no longer restricted to specific toll lanes and may use any lane at nine toll plazas, those being Hutan Kampung, Alor Setar Utara, Alor Setar Selatan, Pendang, Gurun, Sungai Petani Utara, Sungai Petani Selatan, Bertam and Sungai Dua. The 87.7km first phase is expected to help reduce congestion and unsafe last-minute lane changes at toll plazas.
“Toll charges are processed automatically via ANPR cameras that capture vehicle number plates and link them to a mobile-based payment platform. Users only need to download the JustGO Malaysia mobile app, register their vehicles and connect a preferred payment method such as a debit or credit card, with no additional devices or upfront costs required,” PLUS said in a statement.
The JustGO Malaysia app functions as an open digital toll payment platform, in line with the government’s efforts to expand payment options. Existing payment methods, including Touch ‘n Go cards, SmartTAG and RFID, will continue to be available.
PLUS has been conducting trials of the ANPR system since September 2024 in collaboration with the Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA), with test results indicating faster vehicle detection compared to existing tolling systems.
During the pilot phase, toll plaza barriers will remain in place, and motorists are advised to slow down to between 20kph and 25kph when passing toll plazas.
