AF Payments Inc., a consortium of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Ayala Corp., on Monday proposed a QR code ticketing system for buses plying the EDSA loop after the government suspended the mandatory use of “beep” cards.
“In response to concerns that some passenger may not be able to buy a beep card, we have offered to the operators [of EDSA Busway] a system upgrade that will allow passengers who use the EDSA Bus Loop to use a QR ticket [paper or mobile phone] instead of a beep card,” AFPI said in statement.
The company said the QR paper tickets “will not cost anything in addition to the regular fare for the desired trip. “
“After we have upgraded the equipment in all buses plying the EDSA loop, passengers will be able to use a beep card or a QR code ticket on all buses,” the company said.
AFPI said to ease the burden of passengers who have challenges buying a beep card, it would issue free beep cards to people in need.
“This offer has been made possible by our shareholders and business groups, who graciously donated the needed funds to pay for up to 125,000 free cards,” it said.
“As soon as the QR code ticket system is in place, we will no longer be issuing free beep cards as it is no longer necessary,” AFPI said.
The company said passengers who do not want a beep card could instead avail of a QR ticket, with no additional cost attached and would only require the payment of exact fare between the desired stops.
“The new upgraded bus validation will also be able to accept mobile phone based QR tickets that can be generated from bank applications or e-Wallets,” AFPI said.
The company is inviting e all interested parties to sign up and participate as QR ticket issuer.
“We open-sourced the necessary technical specifications and made it available on the Internet free of charge for every interested party to develop the technology to issue a ticket,” AFPI said.
The company said the beep cards are sold at P00 each, which covers only part of the cost of logistics, production, initialization, printing and distribution.
“For the next 12 months, even if card sales continue at P80, AFPI will not make any profit and will actually subsidize the operation of the AFCS. In this challenging economic situation, we will continue supporting bus and jeepney operators to restore mass transport that is needed by our citizens and the economy,” the company said.
The Department of Transportation on Monday suspended the use of beep cards along the EDSA Busway after AFPI decided not to remove the P80 fee for the card.