By Brian Campued
In line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to make public transport more convenient, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Friday announced that commuters of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines and the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) will be able to pay fares using debit and credit cards starting July.
During a press briefing in Malacañang, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon said cashless turnstiles will be installed on train stations where commuters can tap their phones or cards, eliminating the need for Beep cards currently used in the rail lines.
“Mga bandang July ito ‘no, if I’m not mistaken. I-implement na natin sa MRT at sa ibang mga tren natin. Alam ko pati credit card puwede na, ita-tap mo na lang ‘yong phone mo. Hindi ka na kailangan bumili ng Beep [card],” Dizon explained.
Dizon added that the President had ordered the DOTr to develop an “open-loop payment system” which can cater to different payment options—similar to systems employed by global transit networks.
The DOTr is also coordinating with train operators and financial service providers to ensure a smooth launch of the upgraded fare collection system, with pilot tests and information drives set ahead of the planned rollout.
“Ayon na rin sa direktiba ng ating Pangulo na mag-focus po tayo sa mga pang-araw-araw na—minsan naiisip natin maliliit na bagay pero sa mga kababayan natin hindi iyan maliliit ‘no, malalaking bagay iyan dahil araw-araw po nilang dinadaanan iyan,” the Transportation chief said.
“Nakikita na naman natin ito sa ibang bansa. So, iyon ang sabi ng ating Pangulo, gawin na rin natin ‘yong mga modern facilities sa ibang bansa dito para sa mga kababayan natin.”
The latest initiative in the transport came ahead of the scheduled rehabilitation of the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) on June 13.
Dizon cited various interventions the government has proposed to cushion the expected impact of the EDSA Rebuild project to commuters and workers, including the addition of bus units to the EDSA carousel route as well as trains to the MRT-3.
“Nagdagdag na po tayo ng 50 bus last month, magdadagdag pa tayo in the coming weeks ng mahigit 100 pang bus,” he said.
“Iyong proposal din po natin na pinipilit natin ngayon na magdagdag ng tren at hopefully makapag-extend pa tayo ng kahit kaunti ng hours sa umaga para din po sa workers iyan.”
On March 24, the MRT-3 extended its evening operations on weekdays.
-jpv
