QUEZON CITY, Philippines – Following last week’s successful testing of the Department of Transportation and Communications’ (DOTC) first Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project, the Contactless Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS), at the Legarda station of the Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2), the transport agency eyes to expand the new ticketing scheme to the railway’s other stations within the next 2 weeks.
“The response we got from commuters was very positive. They are as excited as we are to finally have a tap-and-go system just like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan. There were a few glitches, but these were all minor and unsurprising considering that we are still testing the system,” said DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya.
Minor glitches encountered typically involved the ticket vending machines (TVMs), such as the rejection of old and very crumpled peso bills. No major issues were experienced at the new turnstiles.
The DOTC and the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) assure the public that project concessionaire AF Payments, Inc. (AFPI) will work on the glitches encountered, as the new system is refined further throughout this limited public trial stage.
The next step is to expand the scope of the tap-and-go scheme to other LRT-2 stations in the coming weeks.
“Our target is to activate the system at all 11 stations of LRT-2 in about three weeks’ time. So we have 2 weeks to work on the 10 remaining stations and to address the minor glitches encountered.
As always, we look forward to receiving more feedback from passengers,” Abaya added.
The DOTC has lined up the activation of the remaining stations in the following order: (1) Betty Go-Belmonte; (2) Katipunan; (3-4) Pureza and J. Ruiz; (5) Cubao; (6-7) Anonas and Gilmore; (8) Recto; (9) V. Mapa; and (10) Santolan.
Under this ongoing testing phase, a limited number of new single journey and stored value tickets branded as “beep cards” will initially be sold for P 20.00 at the project’s activated stations. Commuters may purchase them from the TVMs and designated windows.
The new tickets may be used to exit from any LRT-2 station, and may be reloaded at any of these locations as well. The minimum amount that the system requires to be loaded is P 12.00, and the maximum is P 10,000.00.
DOTC, LRTA, and AFPI personnel are present at each of the train system’s stations to assist passengers in familiarizing themselves with the new ticketing technology.
DOTC: Tap-and-Go Ticketing System trial a success
