Beep cards available at MRT-3 stations soon

MANILA, Philippines - The contactless beep card system will be operational in all stations of the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT) starting Oct. 3.

“Come Oct. 3, commuters can maximize the use of the beep cards in all three train lines that service Metro Manila,” AF Payments Inc. (AFPI) president and chief executive officer Peter Maher said yesterday.

The new automated fare collection system (AFCS) was first implemented at the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Lines 1 and 2.  

“Train passengers will no longer need to fall in line twice to buy a new ticket when they transfer from MRT-3 to LRT or vice versa,” Maher said.

The AFPI will be pre-selling beep cards starting Sept. 28 to avoid long queues for the new ticketing system at the MRT-3, which spans from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City.

LRT 2 spans from Santolan in Pasig City to Recto in Manila.

The LRT 1 covers Roosevelt station in Quezon City to Baclaran station in Pasay City.

Commuters can buy the beep cards with P80 load for P100 at the following MRT-3 stations: North Avenue, Cubao, Shaw Boulevard, Ayala, and Taft.

“MRT-3 passengers can buy and reload their beep cards at any LRT 1 and 2 stations,” Maher said.

The beep card is the tap-and-go system developed to make the payment process more convenient across all three rail lines. It replaced the old magnetic ticket, allowing seamless transfer from one rail line to another.

There are plans to expand its use to cover tollways, car parks, taxis, buses, restaurants and convenience stores.

AFPI, a consortium of Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp., was awarded the contract to implement the project.

For more information and updates on the beep card, commuters can check the AFPI’s website www.beeptopay.com, or follow the firm on Facebook (www.facebook.com/beepcardph) and Twitter (@beep_card).