The Uganda National Roads Authority-UNRA has introduced an electronic payment system for the Entebbe Expressway toll.
Allen Kagina, the UNRA ED says this shall directly ease payment by road users to top up their cards with comfort wherever they are without physically going to the toll plaza.
The latest payment option is being done in partnership with telecommunication companies dealing in mobile money including MTN, Airtel and Stanbic Flexipay.
The partnership has also introduced remote card top-up for the NFC cards unlike previously where clients would be constrained to physically visit the point of sales at each toll plaza.
Previous schemes included only cash at the point of sale loading on NFC cardsn and Toll booth for payment of toll fees by the road users.
The NFC cards include the monthly 70% discount, weekly card with a 50% discount and easy pass card with a 10% discount.
This arrangement according to Kagina has been causing unnecessary inconvenience when the point of sales are closed during the weekend and past working hours.
The Operator is mandated to provide remote payment options for the UPESI cards such as the use of Mobile Money and Bank transfers.
Since commencement of the tolling operations on the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway project, UNRA has managed to collect a total of Ugx17b.
UNRA has also installed an Independent Traffic Monitoring System that reconciles all revenues collected with the traffic that has passed at each lane.
This creates confidence after reconciliation with the Tolling system, whereby, in case of any misclassification or violation of the procedures, the Operator pays for all the discrepancies.
The average daily traffic volume recorded at the three Toll Plazas is 20,166 vehicles per day versus the projected traffic of 16,000 vehicles per day.
Other ongoing works at the expressway include Lighting poles and Cables which have been delivered on site at the three Toll plazas.
The Lighting Lamps are being cleared by URA and will soon be delivered on site according to Kagina.