NEWS | Beep cards to be given free for cashless public transportation
By Miraflor S. Anacio
The recently released guidelines on the mandatory use of beep cards caused chaos among commuters in the EDSA Busway. After calls to modify the policy during its first week of implementation, the government announced that cards will be given free to all commuters. As a result, groups expressed their disappointment and called on the government agencies involved for violating consumer’s rights.
Cashless transaction or persons?
The ‘no beep card, no ride’ policy, which was fully implemented last October 1 in the EDSA Busway, aimed to utilize cashless transactions and minimize physical contact between commuters and public transport personnel. However, commuters pointed out that the unclear guidelines of the policy caused disarray and long lines in beep card booths and buses which resulted in opposite effects.
Additionally, commuters were not in favor of the plan as it entailed additional spending to acquire the needed card. Upon the implementation of the policy, price increased to PHP 80 per purchase, a P30-P50 difference from its original price. They were also obligated to pay PHP 65 as maintaining balance, and PHP 5 as convenience fee from third party service providers. Summing it up, first time users were expected to pay PHP 150–180 upon purchase.
Amidst the confusion, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade stated that they, too, were not informed about the sudden price increase in acquiring beep cards.
Furthermore, commuters also raised their concerns as the Beep cards are not interoperable between railway systems, point-to-point buses, and modern public utility vehicles, contradicting the statement of the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
Proper policy making
The DOTr temporarily suspended the mandatory use of beep cards last October 5 after the outpour of appeals by groups and commuters. On October 7, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) released Memorandum Circular 2020–057 mandating that beep cards will be free of all fees except fare starting October 9.
Meanwhile, Vice President Leni Robredo criticized DOTr’s lack of coordination and preparedness in the implementation of the policy which led to public confusion.
“You should have talked about it so you don’t contradict. It looks surprising that there is a program being implemented and the one implementing it will be surprised why it is being implemented,” Robredo appealed.
In relation to this, Atty. Vic Dimagiba, President of Laban Konsyumer Inc., claimed that this policy violated the consumer’s right to be informed. He believes that the chaos could’ve been avoided if the regulators did its work mindfully by first consulting with the consumers when they drafted the new policy.
“The agency should have studied the sector most affected by the shift to cashless transaction — the consumer who must rely on public transportation because he has no alternative and the same consumer who must make every peso count and who cannot afford any extra expense,” Dimagiba asserted.
He reiterated that the government should give a refund to those commuters who already paid for the card.
“The lesson that we consumers learned in the Beep card fiasco is always to be aware and conscious of our consumer rights and to speak up when these rights are threatened or belittled. We should always be vigilant consumers about our rights lest we find these rights trodden again,” Dimagiba concluded.
