By Azer N. Parrocha
MANILA, Sept. 23 (PNA) — Passengers taking the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3) will soon be able to use beep cards as the new system is expected to go live starting Oct. 3.
This development comes after the roll-out of the beep card ticketing system in both Light Rail Transit Lines 1 and 2 (LRT-1, LRT-2).
Beep card concessionaire AF Payments Inc. (AFPI) said that with the upcoming launch of beep cards in MRT-3, passengers can already maximize the use of the beep card in all three railway stations.
“We are pleased to inform the public that the beep card will soon have full acceptance in all three train lines that service Metro Manila,” AFPI president and CEO Peter Maher said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Maher expressed hope that the new system will improve the train riders’ buying and paying experience, and also facilitate seamless transfer between lines with the card’s inter-operability feature.
AFPI said that as early as Sept. 28, passengers can already avail of the beep cards since pre-selling will be done in five MRT 3 stations, namely North Avenue, Cubao, Shaw Blvd., Ayala, and Taft stations.
“We encourage MRT 3 commuters who don’t have a beep card yet to purchase one during this period so they don’t have to line up to buy their cards on Oct. 3,” Maher said.
He further said that passengers can also purchase and reload their beep card at any of the LRT 1 and 2 stations.
A single journey (SJ) beep card costs PhP 20, but it can only be used at the station where it is purchased.
On the other hand, a stored value (SV) beep card costs PhP 100. It includes load worth PhP 80 and is valid for four years. It can be reloaded for as low as PhP 12 to as high as PhP 12,000. (PNA)