THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) urged Friday train commuters to reload their Beep or stored value cards in off-site reloading centers to shorten queues in ticketing stations and to reduce their commute time.
Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) and Light Rail Transit (LRT) Lines commuters may reload their “tap-and-go” cards in 76 sites in Metro Manila, 16 of which are within walking distance or 200 meters from stations, DOTr said in a statement.
Commuters may reload at Bayad Center and its partner outlets, Tambunting, Villarica, and SM Bills Payment centers, it added.
Since its introduction in April, the off-site ticketing system has generated over 50,000 top-up transactions.
"By September, commuters will also have the option to reload in over 1,100 Metro Manila branches of 7-Eleven, Mini Stop, and Family Mart. This is on top of over 300 more Bayad Center branches that will allow top-up transactions," DOTr said.
The Department also encouraged the over one million daily train commuters to shift from single journey tickets to stored value cards.
As of June, around 45 percent of passengers are still using single-journey tickets, falling in line at the ticket stations every time they ride the train.
The Beep card system, a unified ticketing system, was introduced last October 2015, allowing passengers to transfer from one train to another. The MRT-3 and LRT Lines 1 and 2 used to run on two different payment cards. (SDR/Sunnex)