Crossing the Demerara Harbour Bridge is now seamless for over 1,000 persons who have registered their vehicles with the automatic tolling system.
The 1,019 registered vehicles represent several government agencies, private companies and private vehicles, with the latter accounting for a larger number of registrations.
General Manager of the Demerara Harbour Bridge, Wayne Watson, told the Department of Public Information that the initiative, which was officially launched back in April, uses a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) strip which is picked up by scanners installed above the toll booth. The initiative was launched in collaboration with GTT’s Mobile Money payment system.
Over 22,000 vehicles traverse the harbour bridge daily in both directions. It is expected to increase as the country’s economy continues to rapidly expand.
Modern technology eliminates the need for drivers to stop and pay cash to cross the bridge, especially during the rush hours in the mornings and evenings when people are leaving and returning home.
“It is not about the bridge, it is about trying to improve customer service, trying to improve the rate at which one person would have to stop and wait on change or if you are driving a left-hand vehicle, you have to come out the vehicle to pay the toll, so this system will negate all those obstacles,” Watson stated.
A similar system will be implemented on the new Demerara River Crossing when it becomes operational within two years. (Extracted from the Department of Public Information)
