(Eagle News)–A no-beep card no-ride policy shall be implemented in public utility buses under the Edsa busway system starting October 1.
Beep cards are stored-value contactless cards, which allow for the fare to be deducted upon the tapping at the fare collection machine.
According to Transportation Assistant Secretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Steve Pastor, the policy is part of the agency’s added safety measures to reduce the spread of the virus associated with cash-handling in public transport.
Pastor said the policy “will also complement other safety and health protocols already enforced by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases on PUVs, such as the required social distancing, and mandatory wearing of face masks and face shields to board.”
“We want to ensure that commuters along EDSA will have a safer and comfortable travel, while at the same time providing them a more seamless and efficient system of public transport,” Pastor said.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board urged EDSA Busway passengers to put load in the cards to avoid inconvenience in payment once the automated fare collection system is implemented.
To load the cards, passengers can go to any LRT and MRT stations, FamilyMart and Ministop branches, Bayad Center and their affiliates, or BPI, Eon by Unibank, Akulaku, and Justpayto and pay over-the-counter.
“As we are removing other potential health risks, we also want to limit the time spent in queues and lines that come with having to do cash payments,” LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra said.
“We are envisioning that even more public transport vehicles adopt digital transactions means, either through QR codes, online payments or tying up with cashless payment providers such as Beep,” he added.
The beep system is also used in Metro Manila’s three elevated railways which are the LRT-1, LRT-2, and MRT-3 and by a number of Point-to-Point (P2P) buses and modern Public Utility Vehicles (PUVs) nationwide.
The EDSA Busway is a joint project of the DOTr, LTFRB and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
