Passengers of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) will soon be able to pay using credit and debit cards for their fare in addition to the removal of X-ray machines as part of the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) efforts to eliminate queuing at MRT-3.

DOTr Secretary Vince Dizon announced that turnstiles accepting cashless payment options, such as debit and credit cards, will be installed at MRT-3 stations in July.

Dizon said GCash is already accepted as a cashless payment option at the MRT-3.

He said tap card payments are already in use in public transport facilities in other countries.

“That’s what President Marcos said, let’s have the same modern facilities in other countries here for Filipinos,” Dizon said.

On the other hand, Dizon said the removal of X-ray machines is being piloted at the North Avenue and Taft Avenue Stations of the MRT-3 since April, and recently at the Taft Avenue Station of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) and the Recto Station of the LRT-2.

“We’ll look at the results over the next few weeks,” he said.

Dizon said the removal of X-rays is being done in coordination with the Office of Transport Security, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to ensure the safety of passengers.

“We’re doing a lot of preparation for this. We didn’t do this haphazardly,” he said.

Preparations include the deployment of K9 sniffing dogs from the PCG K9 academy in Clark, Pampanga.

Earlier, Dizon ordered for “small issues” to be addressed such as visual cues and signages at transport hubs such as the MRT-3 during an inspection of the Bonifacio Avenue and Shaw Boulevard stations.

During the inspection, he ordered for the removal of the Shaw Boulevard station sign that he described as looking like a “tarpaulin printed in Recto” after it drew flak from commuters.

“We’re going to take this out, and we’re going to put signages that are globally accepted,” he said. 

PNA PHOTO