DOTr: No fare hike for train systems

MANILA, Philippines — The fare rates of Metro Manila’s train systems will stay the same amid adjustments in the price of stored value “Beep” cards, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said on Friday.

The agency clarified that the increase in the price of stored value cards used in the Light Rail Transit Lines 1 and 2 and Metro Rail Transit Line 3 is the “card issuance fee increase,” not the fares.

The increase in the card issuance fee is an automatic provision in the concession agreement between the then Department of Transportation and Communication and AF Payments Inc., the concessionaire jointly owned by the Ayala Group and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. on March 31, 2014, the DOTr said.

Based on the agreement, any stored value card distributed by the concessionaire until Dec. 31, 2019 “shall be charged an issuance fee of not more than P20 and any stored value card distributed by the concessionaire after Dec. 31, 2019 shall be charged an issuance fee of not more than P30.”

The Light Rail Transit Authority, which operates the LRT Line 2, announced in an advisory that the price of stored value cards will increase from P20 to P30 starting on Jan. 1.

The DOTr said it is currently reviewing the concession agreement and all its provisions, “with the end view of determining how best to protect public interest.” A report will be provided to the public as soon as possible, the agency said.