METRO Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), concessionaire of NLEX, SCTEX in cooperation with BCDA, NLEX Connector, Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX) in cooperation with PRA-PEATC, and Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX), has intensified its holiday traffic and road safety preparations across its Luzon expressway network to ensure a smooth and safe journey for motorists during the Christmas and New Year peak travel period.
Through early preparations, full manpower deployment, and initiatives such as counterflow, barrier-up operations, free towing services, and toll-free passage, MPTC aims to provide safer and more convenient travel experience to its motorists.
“Our goal this holiday season is to have motorists spend less time on the road and more time with their families,” said MPIC and MPTC Chairman Manuel V Pangilinan.
“We’ve prepared early, deployed full manpower, and have initiated barrier-up operations, counterflow measures, free towing services, and toll-free passage. The toll-free initiative is our way of giving back to motorists. We hope it helps ease their travels during this holiday season,” Pangilinan added.
To manage increased traffic volume, all roadworks and lane closures will be suspended from 6:00 AM on December 19, 2025, until 12 noon on January 5, 2026, except for emergency safety repairs.
Additional traffic, toll, and emergency and medical response teams will be deployed, and all lanes in major toll plazas will remain open to accommodate peak traffic.
To further ease congestion along NLEX, Express Lane (counterflow lane) will be activated subject to traffic conditions. These lanes will be accessible to Class 1 RFID-only vehicles, with northbound operations on Fridays from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM (entry at Balintawak Expansion Plaza) and southbound operations on Sundays from 2:00 PM and early Mondays from 5:00 AM (entry at Bocaue Expansion Plaza).
Free passage in the MPTC Luzon expressways
Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) is pleased to announce a toll-free initiative for motorists during select hours over the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Motorists can enjoy free toll passages on NLEX, SCTEX, NLEX Connector, CAVITEX, and CALAX during the festive hours:
December 24, 10:00 PM to December 25 at 6:00 AM
December 31, 10:00 PM to January 1 at 6:00 AM
Trip planning is made easier with the MPT DriveHub app, which provides traffic updates, toll fee calculation, RFID reloading, and access to emergency roadside assistance.
Motorists are encouraged to ensure their RFID accounts are active and sufficiently loaded prior to their travels. Cash-paying customers are advised to shift to RFID for faster transactions. Visit Easytrip’s website www.easytrip.ph for more information.
For regular updates and road safety tips, motorists can check out MPTC expressways’ official Facebook accounts @NLEXexpressways and @OfficialCALAX, as well as its 24/7 hotline at 1-35000. (UnliNews Online)

