The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board said Monday it will implement a cashless transaction system using Beep cards on public utility buses using the EDSA Busway System starting Oct. 1.
Transportation Assistant Secretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Steve Pastor said the system would be part of the agency’s safety measures to reduce the spread of the virus associated with cash-handling in public transport.
“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.
“This 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,” he said.
The LRTFB also asked EDSA Busway passengers to purchase their Beep cards and put load in the cards to avoid inconvenience once the automated fare collection system was implemented.
Beep cards are stored-value contactless cards that provide easier, modern and more convenient ways of paying for the ride. Fare is deducted from the card upon tapping at its fare collection machine.
This 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 buses and modern public utility vehicles nationwide.
To load the BeepTM cards, passengers can go to any LRT and MRT stations, FamilyMart and Ministop branches, Bayad Center and their affiliates, or via over-the-air loading partners such as BPI, Eon by Unibank, Akulaku and Justpayto.
The EDSA Busway is a joint project of the Department of Transportation, LTFRB and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, with the vision to transport commuters from Monumento, Caloocan City to Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange through a dedicated median bus lane to reduce travel time from as long as three hours to less than an hour. It began operations on July 1.
