DoTr open to new card issuers amid beep card shortage听听
THE DEPARTMENT of Transportation (DoTr) on Thursday said it will consider new suppliers for public transport reloadable cards amid a shortage of beep cards.听听
鈥淭he DoTr and railways operators, we are open to accept new card issuers like beep card,鈥 Randolph Clet, project manager of automated fare collection system of DoTr, said in a One News interview.听听听
AF Payments, Inc., (AFPI), a consortium between the Ayala Group and the First Pacific Group, is the company behind stored-value or 鈥beep鈥 cards, which is used in rail lines, buses and modern public utility vehicles.听听听听
Mr. Clet explained that the shortage of beep cards is due to global supply chain issues.听听听
鈥淭his shortage is by AFPI, they are saying that the production of electronic chips used in cards are affected by the high prices of fuel, commodity supply disruptions brought about by the Russian-Ukraine war and the pandemic,鈥 he said.听听听
The DoTr was recently asked by legislators to explain to surging prices of beep cards.听听听听
鈥淏eep cards are sold in MRT stations based on our concession agreement. The ones that are sold outside stations, which is higher than the ones sold in stations, we cannot control it, it is not part of our concession agreement,鈥 Mr. Clet said.听听听听
Last month, the DoTr announced that it is exploring other options for cashless payment such as QR codes, debit cards, and credit cards as part of the department鈥s efforts to improve the public transportation system. 鈥 Ashley Erika O. Jose
