With the rapid advancement of electronic toll payment technologies in Malaysia, Touch 'n Go (TnG), a local

electronic toll collection (ETC) solution provider offering cashless toll payments for road users via prepaid

into user experiences and public opinion. Guided by the Theory of Road Pricing and the Theory of

Decomposed Planned Behaviour, the study uses qualitative data analysis software, ATLAS.ti, to code and

findings are expected to provide valuable insights for TnG’s management to enhance their services, as well as

assist policymakers in formulating effective strategies and policies for toll collection in Malaysia.

Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior

As Malaysia continues to grow economically and socially, the development of highways has become a vital

part of the country’s infrastructure. Highways not only connect cities to rural areas but also play a major role in

Valley region alone, around 20 toll routes cover key districts including Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Petaling

Jaya, Klang, and Gombak, reflecting the area’s high traffic demand.

Toll collection in Malaysia has evolved significantly over the decades. The country's first tolled road,

connecting Tanjung Malim and Slim River, opened in 1966. Back then, tolls were paid in cash directly to a

cashier. It wasn’t until 1997 that the Malaysian government took major steps to modernize this system by

appointing Teras Teknologi Sdn Bhd—later known as Touch ‘n Go Sdn Bhd (TnG) that was entrusted to

manage toll collection nationwide. This move was part of a government initiative to reduce traffic congestion

and increase efficiency by phasing out cash payments (EMIS, 2022).

Over time, TnG gradually introduced more advanced cashless solutions. Initially, drivers could still choose

between paying with cash or using TnG cards, which required tapping the card on a reader. In 2000, the

As cars approached toll plazas, RFID scanners would automatically detect the chip and deduct the toll fare

directly from the user's TnG eWallet. Designed for nationwide implementation, RFID aims to deliver a

collection technology marks Malaysia’s commitment to creating a more efficient and intelligent transportation

network, making everyday travel more convenient for millions of road users.

On September 29, 2023, Malaysia introduced a major advancement in toll payment with the implementation of

the Open Payment System on 11 highways. This system allows road users to pay tolls using Near Field

Communication (NFC) technology via smart devices or physical credit/debit cards. The initiative aims to

reduce congestion and improve the overall efficiency of electronic toll collection (ETC) nationwide (Bernama,

2023; Touch 'n Go, 2022). Importantly, it also provides an alternative to Touch ‘n Go, to reduce its long-

multiple payment methods—TnG, SmartTag, RFID, and now Open Payment, making tolls more accessible and

user-friendly. Despite these innovations, traffic congestion, especially during peak hours, remains a persistent

issue. To address this, Malaysia has proposed transitioning to a Barrierless Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF)

system. This system eliminates toll booths and uses overhead gantries equipped with RFID and Automated

Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to collect tolls seamlessly as vehicles pass through without stopping.

While similar systems were successfully implemented in Singapore as early as 1998 (Rizal, 2024), Malaysia

lags behind in its implementation.

A major hurdle to MLFF implementation is resistance from 13 out of 33 toll concessionaires leading the

government to postpone to 2027 the rollout (Mohamed Radhi & Sallehuddin, 2024; Azmi, 2025). Despite

technological advancements, the full transition to an efficient and congestion-free toll system in Malaysia still

this, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, earlier in 2023, tasked Touch ‘n Go (TnG) with

alternative toll payment options, such as the Open Payment System (Tan, 2023). However, any shift to a new

approach must take into account actual user experiences to ensure its effectiveness. Since most highways still

depend on TnG as the primary payment method, there is a noticeable lack of research focusing on public

dissatisfaction and potential solutions for enhancing the current toll system.

Studies from countries like Bosnia and Herzegovina (Glavic et al., 2017), Indonesia (Rohman et al., 2017), and

Norway (Aasness & Odeck, 2023) have examined public attitudes towards toll systems, highlighting factors

such as income, familiarity, and perceived usefulness of electronic toll collection (ETC)—such insights are

still scarce in the Malaysian context. To bridge this gap, this study analysed Facebook comments from the

pages of major English-language online newspapers in Malaysia using content analysis. The research was

Touch 'n Go (TnG) toll collection system.

2. To identify and analyse the key areas of dissatisfaction and the proposed improvements suggested by

netizens to enhance the effectiveness and user experience of the TnG toll collection system.

The Theory of Road Pricing outlines the fundamental principles for determining toll rates and managing toll

systems, with emphasis on the need to consider factors such as traffic demand, congestion levels, road

maintenance costs, and user equity when setting toll charges and designing toll policies. The evolution of this

theory reflects changing views on balancing economic efficiency with effective infrastructure management. It

serves as a crucial foundation for evaluating the effectiveness and issues related to toll collection systems

that are developed from the new roads. For instance, Frank Knight (1924) reasoned, despite attempts to reduce

congestion by building alternative roads, it only leads to another traffic congestion as road users start to divert

to the new roads that eventually diminish their effectiveness. Whereas Jacob Viner (1932) believed as

industries grow, so does traffic congestion as more industrial transport such as trucks roaming on the roads

contribute towards the congestion. This scenario has unintentionally created external diseconomies or external

cost. Since roads are shared infrastructure, third parties who are caused the congestion need to endure the

burden of traffic congestion as well.

In contrast, Richard Kahn (1935) criticized monopolistic control of road infrastructure, asserting that it could

minimize traffic congestion such as toll rates that vary based on vehicle type, time of travel, and road usage.

toll systems.

Drawing upon the works of classical economists, contemporary studies in road pricing continue to focus on

strategies to reduce traffic congestion through mechanisms that account for trip characteristics and vehicle

types. For example, studies in Bosnia and Herzegovina found that people are more willing to pay tolls on

weekdays, with income being a key factor (Glavic et al., 2017). In Spain, toll rates differ by vehicle type, and

commercial drivers are more likely to adopt electronic toll collection (ETC), particularly when incentives like

free tags are offered (Heras-Molina et al., 2019). Meanwhile, in Norway, removing toll exemptions for electric

vehicles proved unpopular as EV costs approach those of traditional cars (Aasness & Odeck, 2023).

Research also reveals that demographic factors such as gender, age, region, and nationality often do not

significantly impact users' willingness to pay or their maximum acceptable toll price (Glavic et al., 2017;

Milenković et al., 2021). However, factors like income, education level, and employment status are

and convenience per se. In recent years, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) has frequently been used to

explore user intentions in the context of ETC (e.g., Jamaluddin et al., 2023; Ramadhanti et al., 2020).

Nonetheless, the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior (DTPB) offers a more rigor framework. The

Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1989) and TPB (Ajzen, 1991) were integrated and formed

DTPB that helped to elucidate understanding in technological adoption and complex decision-making (Lin et

al., 2021; Nyasulu & Chawinga, 2019). Pioneered by Taylor and Todd (1995), DTPB explains behavior

through three key components: attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (Sansom, 2022).

On individual assessments of technology innovation, the attitude is subdivided into three elements: perceived

usefulness, perceived ease of use, and compatibility with the dissemination of the innovation concept (Tao &

likely to view them positively due to their efficiency and functionality. Similarly, Ramadhanti et al. (2020)

reported that perceived usefulness contributed to increased productivity and smoother processing in

Indonesia’s e-toll card system.

Perceived ease of use refers to individual assessments on how effortless and user-friendly a system is

perceived to be (Davis, 1989). When a system is perceived by the users as straightforward and intuitive, which

require little training and is easy to navigate are more likely to adopt and continue using ETC solutions

Indonesia’s e-toll cards, ease of use alone did not significantly influence user attitudes—implying that factors

such as trust, awareness, and familiarity may also play a crucial role in shaping user perceptions.

expectations (Taylor & Todd, 1995). In electronic toll collection, compatibility reflects the degree to which the

In Step 1, the researchers identified relevant theoretical frameworks to guide the study. This early stage is

Theory of Road Pricing with open coding to capture emerging themes. Initial codebooks were created and

as the data source because social interactions on platforms like Facebook are widely regarded as reflective of

human behavior and societal issues (Olteanu et al., 2019). Comments were collected from posts by prominent

Malaysian English-language newspapers such as The Star, Malaysiakini, and The News Straits Times based on

criteria including follower count (over 100,000), public accessibility, active engagement, and relevant content

selection, which were then extracted using exportcomments.com, a tool widely used in social media research

for exporting data into standardized CSV files containing dates, user IDs, likes, and comment text (Gupta,

During Step 3, the researchers undertook data cleaning and organization by removing irrelevant emojis and

irrelevant, unclear, or off-topic comments. The remaining comments were then categorized according to the