Fees for PUV automatic fare collection system waived – DOTr

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) urged anew public utility vehicle (PUV) operators to shift to cashless and contactless transactions to curb the spread of the COVID-19, adding that maintenance and processing fees for the automatic fare collection system will now be waived.

“We want to promote a ‘new normal’ in public transportation and shifting to cashless and contactless transactions is part of that,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said in a statement on Thursday.

“And I have to commend AF Payments, Inc. (AFPI) for deciding to waive its maintenance and processing fees. This would be a great help to our transport operators, drivers, and passengers.”

The AFPI, which is a joint venture of the Ayala and First Pacific groups, is the consortium behind the Beep card tap-and-go system and provides contactless payment solutions in the transportation sector.

Aside from reducing the risk of virus transmission, Tugade said that implementing a cashless payment system will be beneficial to PUV operators as it reduces pilferage and other losses, and also automates accounting and immediately provides ridership reports to the operator for analysis of its operations.

“This is a game-changer, as it enables the operator to further improve its service,” Tugade added.

Meanwhile, DOTr Assistant Secretary Mark De Leon said the initiative of AFPI can help boost the income of PUV operators, noting that the company, prior to the community quarantine, was charging between 4 to 6 percent of daily gross revenues as maintenance and processing fees.

The Department has been encouraging drivers and operators of PUVs to shift to the automatic fare collection system once public transportation resumes operations under the general community quarantine as part of its health and safety protocols.

“The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board is now in talks with bus operators who are eyeing to consolidate their operations into a consortium, and with that development, they would need automatic fare collection system to appropriately manage their fare collections, and share the income among themselves,” De Leon added.

The AFPI expressed its full support to government efforts to modernize the fare collection system of PUVs once it reopens public transport, adding that they are ready to equip buses and jeepneys with contactless devices that enable cashless ticketing and payment.

“AFPI’s ticketing terminals will accept well-known contactless beep cards as well as GCash QR code payments. Many commuters already have a Beep™ card, as AFPI has issued 7 million beep cards since 2015,” the AFPI added.