Cavitex set to accept beep cards

MANILA, Philippines - The firm behind the Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS) for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) expects to sell a total of 1.3 million beep cards and enable the use of the cards on the Manila - Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) within the year.

“We expect (sales of) around 1.3 million cards this year,” AF Payments Inc. (AFPI) chief executive officer Peter Maher said in a text message.

AFPI, a consortium of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and Ayala Corp., has revised its outlook after meeting its one million sales forecast for the year earlier this month.

The AFPI bagged the P1.72 billion AFCS project part of the government’s flagship public-private partnership scheme.

Under the project, the old magnetic tickets of the LRT and MRT were replaced with the beep cards to improve the overall commuting experience of Filipinos by allowing seamless transfer from one rail line to another.

The beep cards were first launched in the LRT 2 covering Santolan station in Pasig City until Recto station in Manila in July followed by LRT 1 which runs from Roosevelt station in Quezon City until Baclaran station in Pasay City last August.

The MRT 3 which spans North Avenue station in Quezon City until Taft station in Pasay City started accepting the beep cards last month.

After the three rail lines, AFPI is now looking to expand the use of the beep cards.

Maher said AFPI intends to make the beep cards acceptable as payment for the use of toll roads starting with the Cavitex this year.

“We are working on Cavitex tollway before Christmas. Others to follow,” he said.

The Cavitex is under toll road operator Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., a unit of MPIC.

Maher said the company also plans to enable the loading and acceptance of beep cards in convenience stores.

“We will open (to) convenience stores in 2016,” he said.