APPARENTLY, not all systems upgrades result in improvement.
For many Thomasians, riding the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) lines is a daily ascent to calvary. The implementation of a “unified ticketing system” for the three existing rapid rail transit lines has exacerbated commuter woes.
The new “contactless” tickets, known as “beep cards,” were introduced by AF Payments Inc. under a public-private partnership or PPP contract. AF Payments is owned by two big conglomerates, Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.
Users can load a minimum of P12 and a maximum of P10,000 worth of prepaid credits into each ticket. The new tickets replaced the old magnetic cards in LRT Line 2 beginning July, followed by southbound LRT Line 1 stations last Aug. 16.
Michael Sagcal, spokesman of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), said the unified ticketing system, formally known as the Automated Fare Collection System, would generate a “net positive” to government revenues.
Student feedback has been mostly negative, however, as the transition to the new cards has not been smooth. Train services remain poor, students pointed out.
Razbert Uy, a Communication Arts junior who regularly rides the LRT Line 2 that runs from Recto Avenue in Manila to Santolan in Pasig, said the funds used for the ticketing upgrade could have been used to increase the number and improve quality of coaches.
“Kasi ang nagawa ng [beep cards], mas napadali ‘yung pagpasok ng mga tao sa mismong station, sa platform, pero kulang naman ‘yung trains para ma-accommodate ‘yung tao,” Uy said.
Angela Martinez, an Accountancy freshman, said ticket-vending machines often malfunctioned. “Mas gumulo lang ‘yung service ng LRT kasi hindi pa naman nagfa-function ng maayos ‘yung iba[ng machines] at saka kulang-kulang pa ‘yung ticket,” Martinez said.
Color-coded coupons serve as temporary tickets for northbound LRT Line 1 stations that are still in the process of upgrading their turnstiles for the new system. For MRT Line 3, AF Payments finished testing in August.
For her part, Central Student Council President Anna Mariz Mangalili said the beep cards proved to be convenient for students.
“So far ang lagi ko kasing naririnig na reklamo is more on service mismo ng train,” Mangalili said in an interview.
Metro Manila has three rapid transit lines.
Construction of LRT Line 1 began in October 1981 under Electrowatt Engineering Services of Zurich, Switzerland. The Baclaran to Central stations were completed in December 1984, and the Central Station to Monumento segment opened in 1985. The Balintawak and Roosevelt stations were added in 2010. Line 1 has a total of 20 stations spanning 19.65 kilometers.
MRT Line 3 started operations in 1999. It has 13 stations, spanning 16.9 kilometers from Taft Avenue in Pasay to North Avenue in Quezon City.
LRT Line 2, which has 11 stations and runs 13.8 kilometers from Recto to Santolan, was built with funding from the Japanese government, and started operations in 2003.
Contractor to benefit
Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said the DOTC should focus instead on urgent matters, particularly train services.
“What is the use of having an improved ticketing system if passengers still experience service interruptions such as mismanaged signaling and train overhaul?” Colmenares said in an email to the Varsitarian.
He said his party, Bayan Muna, did not oppose the ticketing system upgrade but considered its benefits “effectively diminished” amid other problems of the rapid transit lines.
“The government cannot even competently hire a long-term maintenance contractor and ensure that the latter fulfills its duties,” he added.
Peter Maher, chief executive officer of AF Payments, concessionaire of the ticketing project, said the beep cards were ideal for commuting students who take more than one train line daily.
The beep cards enable shorter queuing time and make transfers from one rail system to another easier, Maher said in an interview.
The DOTC is also considering allowing the use of beep cards in retail transactions with convenience stores, fast-food restaurants, and other means of transportation like buses. This will be similar to Hong Kong’s Octopus Card.
Colmenares however said the government should not allow such projects to be taken advantage of by for-profit corporations.
The ticketing project is a “waste of government’s funds because it could have, at an amount [it] could shoulder, procured, installed, and operated the Automatic Fare Collection System on its own,” he added.
The unified ticketing project costs P1.72 billion. AF Payments holds a 10-year contract including a two-year development period. The Ayala-Metro Pacific tandem beat rivals SM and the Comworks-Berjaya and Megawide-Suyen consortia in a public bidding conducted by the DOTC in January 2014.
Train lines to be upgraded
Lawyer Hernando Cabrera, spokesman of the state-owned LRT Authority, blamed congestion for disruptions in the LRT lines.
“[One of the] causes of operation disruptions is mostly the number of passengers, especially in Line 1,” Cabrera said in an interview. “Sometimes the train would not operate or break because of overloading.”
However, Cabrera said the two LRT lines would be extended, and 120 coaches for 30 trains, at four coaches per train, would soon be added to accommodate growth in the number of passengers.
Sagcal said the maintenance of LRT Line 1 and construction of the LRT Line 1 extension would soon be transferred to the Light Rail Manila Consortium, another Ayala-Metro Pacific business venture.
“We are supposed to turn it over to them, the operations and maintenance, [on] Oct. 1 this year at the latest,” he said.
Despite legal disagreements with the MRT Corp., owner of the MRT Line 3 concession, the DOTC has bought 48 new light rail vehicles (LRV) from Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Company of China.
Sagcal said the modernization of MRT Line 3 units would maximize the capacity of trains to 900,000 passengers per day from 540,000.
“Of course there are a lot of other issues in MRT such as changing the rails and the signaling system,” Sagcal said.
Sagcal said the lack of investment of both the private sector and government was the primary cause of railway disintegration, noting that the old line operated by the Philippine National Railways had been shortened to 56 kilometers from 700-800 kilometers.
“Pinabulok [‘yung train system]. It is a matter of continuously investing in your infrastructure,” Sagcal said.
New lines delayed
Construction plans for LRT Lines 4 to 6 have been pending since the 1980s due to the “negligence” of previous administrations, said Sagcal. Construction of Lines 4 and 6 was finally approved by the board of the National Economic and Development Authority, headed by President Benigno Aquino III, last Sept. 4.
Line 4 will run 11 kilometers from the SM City in Taytay to the intersection of Ortigas Avenue and EDSA at Ortigas Center in Pasig. Line 6 will run 19 kilometers from Niyog in Bacoor, Cavite – the terminus of the LRT Line 1 extension from Baclaran to Cavite province – to Dasmariñas City.
In addition to Lines 4 and 6, the DOTC plans to build MRT Line 7 that will run from EDSA to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan via Commonwealth Avenue.
MRT Line 7 is delayed due to a legal dispute over where to put a “common terminal.” The SM retail conglomerate wants it at SM North EDSA, while Ayala wants it to be at its Trinoma mall.
“If 1980s to 1990s railway plans were enforced, people would not be on the road or end up taking the bus or buying a car,” Sagcal said. “We would not have this bad traffic.”
