Pre-selling of beep cards in MRT-3 stations kicks off

MANILA — The pre-selling of beep cards in five Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) stations kicked off on Monday.

According to beep card concessionaire AF Payments Inc. (AFPI), the pre-selling of beep cards was done in North Ave., Cubao, Shaw Blvd., Ayala, and Taft stations.

AFPI announced last week that the beep card ticketing system is set to go live at the MRT-3 starting Oct. 3.

MRT-3 is the third railway system to roll out the system after the Light Rail Transit Lines 1 and 2 (LRT-1, LRT-2).

AFPI president and CEO Peter Maher earlier urged passengers to purchase their beep cards during the pre-selling period so they will no longer have to line up to buy their cards on Oct. 3.

Maher said that with the launch of beep cards in MRT-3, passengers can already maximize the use of the beep card in all three railway stations.

He also expressed hope that the new system will improve the train riders’ buying and paying experience, and also facilitate seamless transfer between lines with the card’s inter-operability feature.

Aside from the said MRT-3 stations, passengers can also purchase and reload their beep card at any of the LRT 1 and 2 stations.

A single journey (SJ) beep card costs PhP 20, but it can only be used at the station where it is purchased.

On the other hand, a stored value (SV) beep card costs PhP 100. It includes load worth PhP 80 and is valid for four years. It can be reloaded for as low as PhP 12 to as high as PhP 12,000.