Bacolod rolls out cashless fare payment system

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – Commuters here can start enjoying cashless fare payment, as beep ™ partners with cooperatives of some modernized jeepneys for an automated fare collection.

Commuters regularly traveling the routes of Alijis to Central Market Loop and Bata to Libertad Loop of MBMJ and Uy Transport Services Inc., and PHHC Homesite to Central Market of RSJ Lines Inc. can now use the cashless fare payment system.

An Automated Fare Collection System (AFCS) device is installed in each vehicle in the fleet or in a transport terminal, and passengers can use it to pay their fare via contactless cards (beep™ cards) and digital payments like QR codes and tickets.

Operators benefit from an overall more efficient fare collection system than the traditional manual way which is prone to error and pilferage.

According to beep™ operator AF Payments Inc., commuters can register their card to the beep™ app to be able to monitor their spending and earn rewards points which is P1 spent = 1 point.

These points can be converted to load to be used as fare payment in Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1, LRT2, and Metro Rail Transit (MRT)3, city buses, modern jeepneys, and the entire beep™ network.

One can also convert rewards points to purchase items from Ministop and soon, more retailers will be accepting the rewards points. At present, every 200 points earned entitles the customer to redeem P1 worth of beep™ load in the app.

Sharon Fong, chief commercial officer of AF Payments Inc., in a press release, said that AF Payments has started expanding their business footprint in the Visayas to empower transport operators in the region in their compliance with the government’s public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program.

AF Payments Inc. is a consortium of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and Ayala Corp. that provides robust and proven reliable contactless payment solutions in the Philippines.

At present, only 173 modernized jeepneys are plying the streets here, and the city government has ongoing talks with the Land Trasportation Office (LTO) and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) regarding the sentiments of the traditional jeepneys on the modernization program.