The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) ordered the removal the extra fees and charges when buying Beep cards. Under the directive, commuters using cashless transactions would only have to pay for their fare.
The directive also covers other similar stored value cards used in transportation, as (PUV) operators can freely choose their own Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS) provider.
According to the Memorandum Circular No. 2020-057 entitled “Removal of Fees of AFCS Cards Charged to Commuters Apart from Fare Load” dated Oct. 6, the LTFRB Board ordered PUV operators and AFCS providers to stop charging commuters for the cost of acquiring Beep Cards and other stored value cards.
LTFRB issues memo
“To alleviate the burden of the riding public, this Board hereby directs all Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) operators and/or Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS) to remove any charges of fees imposed for the purchase/use of their cards on top of the fare load,” the LTFRB memo said.
“Failure of the concerned operator and/or provider to comply with this issuance shall cause for the immediate suspension of the automatic fare collection system, aside from the penalties to be imposed pursuant to existing issuances of this board against the operators concerned,” the memo warns.
LTFRB chairman Martin Delgra III, along with board members Engr. Ronaldo Corpus and P/Col. Joel Pernito, and OIC-executive director Col. Renwick Rutaquio signed the order.
In the past week, EDSA Busway passengers expressed frustration over the high cost of Beep cards. Other complaints stem from the P5 convenience free imposed to card users every time they top up. Some have complained of the ‘maintaining balance’ or the minimum card balance based on the maximum fare of the route.
Earlier this week, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) suspended the ‘No beep, no ride’ policy at the EDSA Busway after AF Payments Inc. (AFPI) — provider of the contactless electronic payment Beep card used by buses along EDSA — declined to waive the cost of the card.
In a virtual address to the nation on Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte said that he will ask DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade to distribute Beep cards to commuters for free. “Card lang naman ‘yan, ibigay na ‘yan libre. Bakit pabayaran pa ‘yan? We have been wasting so many billions to corruption tapos ‘yan ‘di maibigay?” Duterte said.
In response, AFPI announced that it would be giving 125,000 free Beep cards to EDSA Busway commuters.
