ETC Tags Cut Expressway Tolls 10% — So Why Are You Still Paying Cash?

The RDA has been pushing Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) on the Colombo–Katunayake Expressway, with a fresh awareness drive this month. Register, fit the RFID tag, keep the account topped up, and you get a flat 10% discount on every toll plus a dedicated lane at Peliyagoda, Kerawalapitiya, Ja-Ela and Katunayake, with Kadawatha next. Sounds simple, but it's still cash-only on most of the Southern Expressway, so a lot of drivers would need to run two systems anyway. The case for ETC: no fumbling for notes at the gate, less queueing at peak hours, and 10% genuinely adds up if you're doing the airport run or a daily commute. The case against: another account to register and top up, tag readers that occasionally misfire and charge you anyway, and a permanent digital record of every trip you make on that road — not everyone's comfortable with that trade for a discount that only works on one expressway so far. If you drive the Katunayake Expressway regularly, have you actually switched to ETC, and was it worth the hassle? Topped up ETC එකට මාරු වුණාද, නැත්නම් කාසි ගානම සුදුසුද?