Users of M-Flow toll system on the rise despite early hiccup
About 30 per cent of motorway users have now adopted the new M-Flow toll payment system despite confusion on its launch last Tuesday, senior Transport Ministry officials said on Saturday.
Some 69,000-70,000 cars, or about 30 per cent of the 240,000-260,000 vehicles that travel Motorway No 9 daily, are passing through the M-Flow barrier-free gates, said Inter-City Motorway Division director Thanasak Wongtanakitcharoen.
He expected the number of M-Flow users to increase significantly within two weeks.
The MFlow mobile application is attracting 6,000-7,000 new users every day while MFlow’s Line official account is getting another 10,000 daily applications.
The director also said about 100 motorists per hour were applying to pay the M-Flow toll with their credit cards.
“As the number of users increases, traffic jams at the toll gates will ease,” he said.
Motorists with the older M-Pass and Easy-Pass cards can pass through the M-Flow lanes after they register for the new method of toll payment, according to the official. The barrier-free system allows vehicles to pass through the gates at 120kph.
Many motorists were confused when the new system launched on Tuesday. Some complained the system was complicated and not user-friendly, while others were worried that it could access too much personal information during user registration.
Motorists who use the M-Flow lane without registering could pay the toll at the MFlowThai website, Department of Highways deputy director-general Paitoon Pongchavalit said. They should select “Non-member passing through M-Flow lane” and then key in their car licence plate. A QR code will be generated, enabling them to pay through any mobile banking app.
Motorists can also register for the system through the MFlow mobile app or its Line chat app by adding “@mflowthai” as their friend and then keying in the required information, including credit card number.