Malaysia’s Barrier-Free Tolls Will Track Evaders as JustGO Passes 90,000 Users
Malaysia’s planned barrier-free toll system will be able to identify drivers who skip paying, Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said this week. The comments come as JustGO, the app that lets motorists pay tolls by number plate instead of a card or tag, passes 90,000 active users across the PLUS highway network.
Key facts
- Speaking in Port Klang on 29 October, Nanta said the Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) system would help collect information on toll evaders, track them and allow claims against them.
- JustGO had more than 90,000 active users as of 20 October and is live at 93 toll plazas covering 966 lanes.
- JustGO uses Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras and charges a linked debit or credit card. Bank account and e-wallet payments are due to be added in stages.
- One expressway operator records about 3,000 toll evasion cases a year, or roughly eight a day, according to reports cited by Bernama.
- Under the Federal Roads (Private Management) Act 1984, a convicted toll evader faces a fine of RM2,000 to RM5,000 or up to one year in jail.
From toll booths to number plates
For most Malaysians, paying a toll still means slowing down at a plaza and tapping a Touch ’n Go card, or driving through an RFID lane with a sticker tag on the windscreen. MLFF is meant to remove that step. Cameras and sensors above the road would identify each vehicle and charge its owner automatically, so drivers no longer need to stop or pick a payment lane.
JustGO is the closest thing to that today. It is part of an ANPR pilot run by PLUS Malaysia Berhad, the operator of the North–South Expressway, which started on one stretch in January and has since spread to dozens of plazas. Registration is free and normal toll rates apply. Users register their car in the app, verify their identity and link a payment card. Once the car shows as “Active”, they can use any lane at a participating plaza. JustGO has already handled more than three million transactions, according to The Star.
A separate pilot by PNB Prolintas on the Kemuning–Shah Alam Highway, run with Touch ’n Go and CIMB, combines ANPR with RFID and reached a detection rate of 99.98%, Bernama reported. Barriers still remain at plazas for now, so neither system is yet true free-flow tolling.
What it means for Malaysians
- Drivers: Paying by plate means no more topping up a card balance or remembering which method you used to enter a highway. The trade-off is that your car and payment details sit in one account, so data security matters. Nanta has named it as a priority alongside accuracy and convenience.
- Toll dodgers: Once barriers go, the deterrent moves from the gate to the database. The minister said the ministry is working with the Road Transport Department (JPJ) and the police on the cases that remain, which he described as relatively few.
- Payment providers: Today JustGO only takes cards. Adding direct bank debits and e-wallets would open a large, recurring payment flow to banks and wallet operators, much as RFID did for Touch ’n Go.
- Highway operators: Each concessionaire runs its own system, so MLFF needs them to share data and agree on how unpaid tolls are recovered. The government is letting them shape a business-to-business model under the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM).
What to watch
- When the ministry sends its final MLFF proposal for government approval, after technical, operational and legal preparations are completed.
- Whether JustGO adds e-wallets and direct bank payments, and whether it spreads beyond PLUS highways.
- How the planned law changes handle enforcement and protect motorists from being wrongly flagged as evaders.
Read more: How Malaysia’s payment system works and Malaysia’s e-wallet war.
Sources: Bernama, October 2026; Malay Mail, October 2026; Bernama (JustGO users), October 2026; The Star, October 2026; Paul Tan, October 2026.
