CALOOCAN CITY, (PIA) --The Department of Transportation (DOTr), and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) successfully launched the pilot operation of the Automated Fare Collection System EMV Pilot Production Testing (AFCS EMV PPT) Project at Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX), Thursday, September 1, 2022.

n a ceremonial launching  led by Undersecretary Mark Steven C. Pastor, Undersecretary for Planning and Project Development Timothy John R. Batan, Landbank CEO and President Cecilia C. Borromeo and Senior Vice President for Digital Banking Sector Randolph Montesa, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe M. Medalla, and Pasang Masda Jeepney Drivers and Operators Services Chairperson Roberto “Ka Obet” Martin, the DOTr, through Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board - LTFRB Chairperson Atty. Cheloy Valicaria-Garafil, LBP and PM Jeepney signed a tripartite Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), signalling the resumption of the pilot implementation of the Program.

DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista, in his message delivered by Usec. Pastor during the event, said “the institutionalization of the AFCS will bring us closer to the goal of achieving global standards in cashless payments when commuting, following the norm in many other countries that have long been using this system."

Key officials from the lead agencies experienced first-hand the inaugural tapping in and out of the first-ever EMV-enabled AFCS as they demonstrated how to use the system.

The initiative of the DOTr is in line with the ongoing finalization of the AFCS National Standards (NS), an interoperability project between the government and private sectors for the continuous development towards digitization of public transportation for faster, convenient, safe, affordable and accessible travel for all commuters in the country.

According to Undersecretary for Planning and Project Development Timothy John R. Batan, the AFCS is just a pilot but they intend to go further.

“As our President Bongbong Marcos has said, we are full speed ahead in delivering a fast, comfortable and convenient, accessible and affordable transportation service throughout the country," Batan said.

Further, the lessons learned from this pilot implementation of the AFCS EMV fare media shall inform and aid the policy formulation of the Department in fully institutionalizing a convenient and safe cashless payments. Ultimately, the adoption of AFCS in all of our transit network will be a tool for evidence-based transport planning. The pilot run shall onboard 150 Modern Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) units in selected areas in NCR, Regions 3, 4A, and 7 (Metro Cebu).

On the part of stakeholders, Chairperson of PM Jeepney Drivers and Services Roberto Martin affirmed his support to the pilot testing of the AFCS.

"Malaking maitutulong nito (AFCS) sa hanay ng transportasyon, sapagkat ang mga drayber natin hindi na kinakailangan humawak ng pera at ganun din ang ating mga komyuters, and at the same time magiging high class na ang sistema ng ating bayaran kagaya ng ibang bansa," Martin said.

Other key officials present during the launching of interim operation and  ceremonial signing of the tripartite MOA for the AFCS EMV PPT project include DOTr  Assistant Secretary for Railways Jorjette B. Aquino, LTFRB Board Members Atty. Mercy Jane Paras-Leynes and Engr. Riza Marie T. Paches, Office of Transportation Cooperatives (OTC) Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Chairperson Cresenciana E.S. Galvez, LBP Vice President Pacifico C. De Paz Jr., LBP Vice President Vivian Canonero, BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto E. Tangonan,  BSP Senior Assistant Governor Edna C. Villa, and BSP OIC for Payments and Currency Management Sub-Sector Ms. Ms Bella S. Santos. (DOTr/PIA-NCR)