Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon said he has responded to concerns made by former Commission on Audit (COA) Commissioner Heidi Mendoza on issues she encountered with railway systems in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Dizon welcomed the feedback and assured that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is focused on providing “even the smallest relief” to commuters while construction for big-ticket transport infrastructure is being fast-tracked.

“These trains were neglected for a while, and that’s why there’s so much to fix to improve services,” he said in a statement.

Some of the complaints made by Mendoza were the shortage of Beep cashless payment cards, broken ticket vending machines, and long queues at cashier windows for seniors and persons with disability (PWD).

He said the shortage of beep cards is a real problem exploited by scammers who sell fake Beep cards online.

In response, Dizon said the Philippine National Police (PNP)–Cybercrime Group has been tasked to track down scammers who sell these Beep cards.

He also ordered Beep to increase the supply of their cards and to ensure that stations do not run out.

“I’ve also instructed that after this year, we will open up the LRT (Light Rail Transit) and MRT (Metro Rail Transit) to other providers of card payment systems so that it’s not exclusive to Beep, and our commuters will have a choice,” he added.

In addition, the new cashless payment system that accepts GCash, credit, and debit cards, being piloted at the MRT-3, will also be rolled out to the LRT-1 and LRT-2.

On the other hand, Dizon ordered National Capital Region train line operators to fast-track the repair of broken vending machines and to buy new and improved ones.

“We also told vending machine contractors that we will issue fines against them if they don’t immediately repair these machines,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dizon said the long lines for seniors and PWDs are caused by a requirement of the COA to list the names of all beneficiaries.

“But we are talking to COA and hoping they will agree to accept an ID picture as proof they are senior/PWD/student or other ways to ease the experience of our beneficiaries,” he said.

In addition, Dizon said a dedicated Beep card for seniors and PWDs with an automatic 50 percent discount has already been released.

He also addressed the recent suspension of the LRT-2 on Tuesday due to a lightning strike, with shuttle vans deployed to help affected passengers.

He added the LRT-2’s services were resumed an hour after the suspension following the repair of a catenary wire damaged by a lightning strike.

“We encourage everyone to provide us with feedback, and we will try to address your concerns quickly,” Dizon said.

PNA PHOTO