Jasa Marga president director Desi Arryani said the company and the Indonesia Toll Road Authority (BPJT) were still discussing whether to retain the current card-based payment method or introduce a new sensor-based system at electronic toll road gates.

“We only plan to convert 50 percent of our toll gates [into electronic ones]. We will then evaluate the effectiveness of the current system,” she said on Monday.

Desi said currently 40 percent of the company’s 1,029 toll gates had so far been converted.

(Read also: Jasa Marga wins four toll road concessions)

Desi said 2018 would also mark the end of the company’s exclusive contract with state lender Bank Mandiri, which served as the sole provider of e-money products to access the former’s e-toll gates. Jasa Marga would later open its e-toll gates to other e-money providers, such as private lender BCA and state lender BRI.

Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) chairman Tulus Abadi has previously criticized toll operators' decision to introduce the e-money system at toll gates, as only around 20 percent of toll road users pay with the method. The YLKI said many customers disliked e-toll gate services because it was difficult for them to top up their e-money cards, apart from the lack of incentives, such as discounts. (hwa)

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