I’ll start by getting this sentiment out of the way: the current Mass Transit Line 3 in EDSA sucks.
And it’s not just because of the technical problems it all too often suffers from. From an aesthetic, design, and capability standpoint, the current Line 3 just sucks so bad. Consider the following issues of the system right now.
After some delay and glitches along the way, the much-await tap-and-ride reloadable transport card for the Metro Manila mass transit system, the beep card, was finally unveiled to the public last July 20 on a trial run basis.
The beep card is envisioned to be the sole ticketing system to be used for all of Metro Manila’s mass transit lines: Lines 1, 2, and 3 and future lines. It is also envisioned to be a system that other modes of transport like buses could use, not to mention as a mode of payment for stores. Much like how Hong Kong’s Octopus card and Singapore’s ez-link card are used besides train ticketing. The potential is there for the beep card to be a modern form of payment at least in the metropolis.
So much has been happening around the metropolis lately, so it’s time to do a roundup of some of the matters we should know about. Read up on the news after the break.
Just as commuters in the metropolis are still feeling the good tidings of Christmas with the recent decision to lower jeepney fares, not to mention a possible lowered fares for taxis and AUVs, there is an impending yang to this present yin as the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) announced an increase in the fares for the metropolitan mass transit lines operated by the LRTA (Lines 1 and 2) and MRTC (Line 3 or the EDSA line) effective January 4, 2015.
The new rates would peg a trip from Roosevelt to Baclaran to P30 from the original P20 via Line 1, Santolan in Pasig to Recto in Manila at P28 from P15 via Line 2, and North Avenue to Taft Avenue at P28 from P15 via Line 3. If you use a stored value card though, you get a P1 discount on the fares.
What a way to start the year, right?