First in Phl: Davao City taxis accept ATM, debit card payments

DAVAO CITY, Philippines  – Taxicabs here now accept ATM and debit card payments, the first-ever in the country using technology similar to the one used in the United States and other developed countries.

Ryan Tan, 33, manager of the Mabuhay fleet of taxis here, said at least 20 of their latest Nissan Sentras were installed with ATM and debit card terminals that would accept payments from banks that are members of the Bancnet and Megalink networks.

Tan said such payments would have no service charges.

“There are no hidden charges here. There are no extra or minimum charges for passengers and even for the drivers who use their terminals. What comes out of the meter will determine exactly how much the passenger pays,” he said.

City residents have taken note of the Mabuhay taxis, as these are colored black.

There are close to 2,000 taxicabs plying the streets of Davao City, mostly brand-new units.

Mabuhay has almost 300 taxicabs using the phone-a-cab system and are installed with fully automated GPS dispatching system.

“With the GPS, we do not already use two-way radios to contact our taxicabs.  The GPS would give us an idea what unit is nearest to the one calling for a taxi and the computer will automatically dispatch the nearest unit,” Tan said.

The GPS system would also monitor the company’s taxi units at anygiven time of the day.

Mayor Sara Duterte welcomed the said development, even announcing the start of the system in her Fanpage.

“Starting July 6, 2012, Black Mabuhay Taxis will begin accepting fare payments using Megalink and Bancnet member ATM/Debit Cards,” the mayor said in her post.

Tan said the company is now working on improving the said payments system by including payments through credit cards on all of the Mabuhay Taxi’s almost 300 units.