1-M BEEP CARDS SOLD | Today the train; tomorrow the bus, the boat?
November 14, 2015 at 14:22
1-M BEEP CARDS SOLD | Today the train; tomorrow the bus, the boat?
By Daryl Gutierrez, InterAksyon | November 13, 2015
MANILA – One million beep cards. That’s the number of cards so far sold in all three Metro Manila light rail lines by a consortium that is now looking to expand the system to other modes of transportation.
Peter Maher, chief executive of AF Payments, a consortium led by Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp., said Thursday “We are delighted that rail commuters in Metro Manila have taken so readily to the new beep card.” Today, beep cards are already used to pay for more than 50 percent of all rail transactions on LRT 1, LRT2 and MRT 3.
The beep card only became available to the public a little over four months ago when it was first offered through a limited public trial in LRT 2. Then, LRT 1 followed one month later when the card was made available to passengers traversing its north-bound tracks.
The MRT 3 adopted the new system when it was launched on October 3. Today, all rail commuters who use more than one line can benefit, using their beep cards, from the convenient and seamless transfer across lines made possible by this unified payment solution.
Buoyed by the success of the first wave of card patronage, AF Payments is now now shifting its sights to provide a convenient payment system even outside the rails.
Maher said AF is “working hard to meet the challenge of delivering one card that works efficiently across many transport and retail categories in Metro Manila.” The consortium believes, he added, “that this is something that the residents of Metro Manila genuinely want to see.
The vision is to make the beep card part of every Filipino’s life. “To be able to do this, we are working on getting more establishments to accept the card for top-ups and payment transactions. We believe that this is the future of paying and we are looking forward to see how Filipinos and beep will grow together”, added Maher.
The beep card is currently available in all LRT1, LRT2 and MRT3 stations and may be purchased via the Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs) and Teller Booths.
They sell for P20 each and may be loaded with a minimum of P13. The beep card can be re-loaded for four years and can hold as much as P10,000.
