DOTr to suspend use of beep cards on Edsa Busway if cards won’t be for free

Passengers line up to board Edsa Carousel buses at Monumento, Caloocan City on September 30, 2020. The Department of Transportation announced the implementation of a fully cashless transaction system using Beep Cards in public utility buses of the EDSA Busway System starting October 1, as ‘No Beep Card, No Ride’ policy. Niño Jesus Orbeta/Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Saturday warned that they will suspend the use of beep cards for Edsa Busway commuters if AF Payments Inc. (AFPI) will not issue the cards for free.

The DOTr made the warning after reiterating its call to AFPI to remove the service fee and other charges on the fare card which the Transportation Department said was causing an “additional burden”  on commuters amid the pandemic.

“These are the ordinary commuters who are still reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 and the strictly enforced community quarantines in their livelihood. Thus, they should be spared from this additional burden,” read the statement.

During the first day of the Automatic Fare Collection System (ACFS), commuters were complaining of the overpriced fare cards as some were sold at bus stations for P180 or P100 and with a P80 load.

With this, the DOTr called on AFPI to cooperate with the order or the use of the beep card on the Edsa Busway will be scrapped.

“Thus, should the AFPI refuse to cooperate by allowing the free use of the “beep” card to commuters upon payment of the fare load, the DOTr will have to suspend its use in the EDSA Busway to alleviate the burden of commuters,” read the statement.

DOTr also noted that its attached agency, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will soon craft a memorandum circular which directs all “public utility vehicle (PUV) operators not to pass the cost of the cashless payment system, especially the AFCS card, to the commuters.”

/MUF