Indonesia’s Ministry of Public Works has decided to run another test of the Multi Lane Free Flow (MLFF) system — toll payments on the Bali Mandara toll road without booths, stopping, or tapping a card. Minister Dodi Hanggodo said that after the first trial in Bali, the authorities still did not reach a clear conclusion on whether it could be considered successful, so they decided to test the system again.
Bali Mandara was chosen from the start as a convenient transitional section: traffic here is relatively light, the road is isolated from other toll roads, and that means the risk of a system-wide failure is lower. The ministry said this during the first test in December 2023. At the time, officials explained that Bali makes it easier to check how the system works in controlled conditions before rolling it out to more complex and busier routes.
The new test could take place within the next two months, but only after the technology operator, PT Roatex Indonesia Toll System, meets the technical requirements set out in the contract.
At the same time, the ministry acknowledges that the project still has unresolved issues. Problems that still need to be addressed include MLFF compatibility with existing operators’ infrastructure, setting up payments via providers, and clear rules for cases where a driver does not pay the toll. Coordination with the traffic police is also being discussed, because penalising offenders requires a clear legal mechanism.
For now, Bali Mandara still uses the standard electronic payment at toll gates, and the road operator continues to remind users in recent updates to check their e-money card balance before entering.
If the system is brought to launch, it should eliminate stops at barriers: the vehicle number plate will be read automatically, and payment will be processed via an app and the vehicle’s registered details. But before that stage, Bali Mandara still has to go through a new round of testing. The ministry previously said the shift to MLFF was planned in phases: first a hybrid format, then a more flexible mode, and only then a fully non-stop system.
Source: radarbali.jawapos.com
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