Ayala-Metro Pacific group gets auto fare collection deal

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications announced on Friday that it has awarded the metro railways' automatic fare collection system to Ayala-Metro Pacific joint venture.

“We are pleased to announce that a modern ticketing system is on its way for our train riders.  This is part of the DOTC’s effort to improve our services at the LRT (Light Rail Trasit) and the MRT (Metro Rail Transit).  The AFCS will provide passengers with more comfort, convenience, and efficiency in their daily commute, at no cost to government or to the passengers,” DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Aguinaldo Abaya said.

The AFCS, a tap-and-go ticketing scheme for the LRT and MRT rail systems, is envisioned to improve passenger comfort and convenience by cutting queuing time and allowing seamless transfers from one rail line to another.

The DOTC said the AF consortium was awarded the concession after having made the most advantageous offer to the transport agency.

It proposed not only to undertake the modernization project, but also to make premium payments to government in the amount of over P1 billion.

Under the concession agreement, the AFCS ticketing scheme will be fully integrated at the LRT and MRT systems by September 2015.

“This shift to a modern fare collection system is only the beginning of several rail improvement projects in our pipeline.  We are increasing the capacity of MRT-3 and buying out its private owner, extending the rail lines of LRT-1 and LRT-2, and building a new one called MRT-7,” Abaya said.

In addition to these projects, the DOTC will also construct a common station in the EDSA-North Avenue area to connect the LRT-1, MRT-3, and MRT-7 lines.  It will also transfer the operations and maintenance of LRT-1 and LRT-2 to the private sector through the PPP program, in order to improve services for the public.

As for the MRT-3 buyout, government has begun the process to acquire the urban railway’s facilities and to end government’s obligation to pay exorbitant rental fees to the private owner until the next decade.