DoTr eyes to award automated fare collection system project this year

THE DEPARTMENT of Transportation (DoTr) targets to award the Philippine Automated Fare Collection System (PAFCS) contract by the fourth quarter, with the bidding process expected to begin in the third quarter.

“We are definitely bidding it out this year… We will likely bid it out in the third quarter and award it in the fourth quarter,” Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John R. Batan said on the sidelines of the Luzon Economic Corridor Reception on Monday.

Mr. Batan said the preliminary cost of the contract is P9.5 billion but added that this is still pending approval from the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC).

“Until it is approved by the ICC, we do not have the final project cost yet, but it’s around that much,” he added.

AF Payments, Inc., the consortium behind the Beep card system, is the current concessionaire for the automated fare collection system. Its contract will expire in December 2027.

Last week, the department held a market-sounding activity for the PAFCS concession under the public-private partnership program, drawing participation from over 50 major local and international firms.

“We are seeing huge interest. GCash was there, Maya was there. The big names, both local and international,” Mr. Batan said.

Aside from Philippine firms, companies from Japan, China, Singapore, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, the US, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden and Finland also joined the activity.

The PAFCS project aims to establish an interoperable and secure fare collection system covering rail, bus, and future transport modes in the country.

The project includes the development, operation and maintenance of the Central Transit Acquirer System and Central Clearing House, covering existing and future rail lines as well as road-based transport systems.

Designed to support multiple fare media types, the system is also expected to encourage more financial institutions to enter the transit payments space.

“The key difference is the current concessionaire that we are bidding out is what we call an open system, so any card issuer, for example, can participate, as opposed to right now where we can only use a Beep card in the rail lines,” Mr. Batan said.

“In this new concession, it will be open standard whether you’re using Beep, Mastercard, Visa, QR code, or smart devices. All of these form factors, all of different issuers, can now work in the fare collection system,” he added.

Nigel Paul C. Villarete, a senior adviser on public-private partnerships at Libra Konsult, Inc., said it is high time for the Philippines to adopt more advanced automated payment systems that deduct the correct fare based on where commuters board and disembark, and are also interoperable.

“For years, I have been hoping we will have those systems used in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore where a single card pay for everything including transportation,” he said in a Viber message. 

“Ultimately, we can do this for almost everything. In fact, many of us already use our credit and debit cards for many things. It is just a matter of time before we fuse all these into a single payment system for all,” he said. “I hope they will reach a stage where we can integrate this with our cellular phone network. That may be the next step, where you do not even need a card. You simply tap your phone regardless of what transaction you are doing.” — Justine Irish D. Tabile