The transformation of the expressway from a rundown road dotted with potholes to a modern state-of-the-art tollway comes with benefits as well as costs. The long-term economic benefits for the region, however, far outweigh the immediate expenses for the motorists.

The new toll rates, which can be adjusted only every two years, are based on a pre-approved formula contained in the contract between MNTC and the Republic of the Philippines (acting through the Toll Regulatory Board). This formula is contained in the Supplemental Toll Operations Agreement (STOA).

The factors in the formula are a fixed base rate set in 1995 prices, and an adjustment factor with three main elements:

•  a yearly escalation of 1%,
•  an inflation factor, and
•  a Philippine Peso to the US Dollar exchange rate premium component, which has gone tremendously high in the past few years and accounts for roughly 45% of the total adjustment factor.

To compute the toll rate, the two figures are multiplied. As the word "fixed" implies, the fixed base rates are constant-P0.82 per kilometer for the closed system and P14 for the open system-and have remained unchanged since 1998. What will raise the toll rate over time are the adjustment factors.