LRT won’t increase fare

The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) has assured the public that the LRT fare will not increase in May when it discards tokens and starts the use of magnetic swipe cards.

Enrico Garcia, LRTA officer-in-charge, said the agency was not about to adjust its fare in consideration of the economic condition of the country. "The LRT fare will remain at P12 even when we start using the swipe cards. There will be no increase yet."

LRTA will start the use of swipe cards in May as part of the plan to interconnect the LRT with the EDSA-based Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and other rail projects of the government.

The agency was scheduled to inaugurate the new fare system last February but had to postpone it in the aftermath of the changes in the country’s national officials. "We expect the automated fare collection system to help minimize the inconvenience experienced by commuters in queuing to the token booths. It will expedite our service," Garcia noted.

Under the plan, all rail facilities will have uniform distance-related swipe cards. The LRTA has acquired some 2.5-million swipe cards from Japan-based Digicom. – Sheila Crisostomo