AF Payments Inc., a consortium led by Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp., has teamed up with three bus operators to accept payments through beep card, or reloadable contactless smart card.
AF Payments said it teamed up with Froehlich Tours, HM Transport and Citylink Coach Services for its first venture into buses serving commuters within Metro Manila.
The partnership covers the Trinoma to Makati and SM North EDSA to SM Megamall for Froehlich Tours; Airport Loop for HM Transport; and Eastwood City, Uptown Bonifacio, San Lorenzo Place, McKinley Hill and Newport City for Citylink Coach Services.
“We are delighted to have forged partnerships with leading bus operators to offer the beep card to their riders. This is an important milestone for AF Payments and a welcome development for commuters who have long wished for a truly convenient travel card for journeys within the Metro area,” AF Payments president and chief executive Peter Maher said.
AF Payments is currently testing the new system across all partner bus operators. It plans to bring the system online in the near future.
“As soon as we go live, the 1.75 million beep cards in circulation will be accepted on those buses displaying the beep acceptance mark,” Maher said.
AF Payments called on other bus operators in the city to join the service and enjoy the many benefits of cashless ticketing, including considerable savings on operational expenses associated with ticket issuance and fare collection.
The beep card is the new contactless payment solution developed to make the payment process more convenient across all three rail lines as it allows seamless transfers from one rail to another.
The beep card uses a more powerful chip-based system and will serve as an electronic payment solution for day-to-day payments.
Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. earlier said the beep card would be rolled out in the second quarter at the North Luzon Expressway and Manila-Cavie Expressway.
“It is being tested. We are hoping to launch it this quarter. Initially, Cavitex and portions of NLEx,” MPTC president Rodrigo Franco earlier said.
MPTC, the tollway unit of MPIC, operates NLEX and Cavitex.