1,000 tap cards to begin rollout in CSBT by March

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The use of “reloadable” tap cards for passengers of the Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT) will begin to roll out by March 2020.

Provincial Treasurer Roy Salubre, in an interview on Wednesday, January 29, 2020, said at least 1,000 cards will be first sold at the ticketing booths at the entrance of the CSBT when it starts partial operation.

The tap cards, which will be named suroy-suroy cards, will serve as passengers’ entry pass in the terminal which now implements a no-ticket no entry policy since October 2019.

Salubre said the passengers will have to tap their cards on a machine at the entrance of the terminal so that they will be allowed to enter. A similar tap machine will be installed in buses for the passengers to tap when they go on board. The passenger’s fare will be deducted from the load credits in the tap cards.

Salubre said this is part of the transport modernization program of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). “

“For a start, they can reload their tap cards in booths at the terminal but eventually, they would be able to buy load for their tap cards like how they reload their mobile phones,” Salubre said in Cebuano.

During the partial implementation in March, Salubre said regular bus tickets will still be available in the bus lines’ ticketing booths at the entrance of the CSBT.

Salubre said the provider of the tap cards will be dealing directly with the bus lines in implementing the project.

“Of course, there will still be a MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) between the provider and the provincial government since they will be installing their equipment in the terminal which is a property of the province,” Salubre said. /rcg