MRT/LRT blues

First, the good news. The government has finally awarded the contract to replace the old magnetic-based ticketing system on LRT Lines 1 and 2 and MRT Line 3 with a smart-card technology to promote efficient passenger transfer to other rail lines and reduce the inconvenience caused by ticket payment delays. It will also address concerns about outdated technology of the MRT and LRT fare ticketing systems and increase collection efficiency by cutting leakage and fraud.

Now, the bad news. The Makati City Regional Trial Court (Branch 66) has stopped the Department of Transportation and Communications from buying 48 train coaches for MRT 3 to expand its capacity and ease the congestion of the public transport system. On Jan. 30, Presiding Judge Joselito Villarosa granted the petition of MRT 3 private operator Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC) and issued a 20-day “temporary order of protection” against the DOTC.

The new ticketing system, called the Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS) project, will most likely proceed as scheduled. The DOTC issued a notice of award also on Jan. 30 to the AF Consortium, declaring it the winning bidder for the P1.72-billion project. The AF Consortium of conglomerates Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. said it would proceed with the project despite an appeal made by the SM group, which says it submitted a superior bid. However, as DOTC spokesperson Michael Arthur Sagcal has said: “The [DOTC’s bids and awards committee] is not inclined to derail the process further, especially now that we have awarded the project. Without a court order or any issuance preventing the DOTC from proceeding, [it] will continue with the process.” The signing of the concession agreement for the AFCS project is scheduled on Feb. 24; the DOTC will issue a notice to proceed to start the project next month.

Aside from being a stored-value train ticket, the MRT/LRT single ticket will eventually also serve as a debit card and can be used for buses and other transport modes, road toll, electronic banking and even shopping.

The Makati court order was received by the DOTC on Feb. 4. Dailan Locomotive of China was awarded on Jan. 16 the P3.77-billion contract for MRT 3’s expansion. The new coaches will cut the waiting time at stations and decongest MRT 3, which has only about 70 coaches serving 600,000 passengers a day (or way above its design capacity of 350,000 riders) on the 17-kilometer stretch from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City. MRTC, which has had a build-lease-transfer agreement with the DOTC for MRT 3 since 1999, wanted to stop the acquisition of new trains supposedly because it violated that agreement.

Given all these, it seems fair to say that commuters can look forward to hassle-free entrance to the MRT and LRT stations with the implementation of the AFCS. They can say goodbye to the long lines that stretch down to the streets during rush hour. But the long wait for new coaches is another issue, because of MRTC’s court case. This delay will make it difficult for the government to convince the riding public that an increase in fares is necessary. It has to implement both the AFCS and the addition of more trains to justify a fare hike.

But there is one thing the government can do: Speed up the takeover of MRTC to have a free hand in deciding the operations and maintenance of the rail system. The government has set aside P56 billion for the takeover in the P2.26-trillion national budget for 2014. President Aquino issued EO 126 early last year directing the DOTC and the Department of Finance to buy all shares of stock and securities issued by MRTC and other entities owning the railway, including their rights and titles. The DOTC simply has to expedite the buyout. As it is, the government pays billions of pesos to MRTC annually for rental, maintenance, debt service and insurance costs, as well as a 15-percent guaranteed return on investment.

The social media are abuzz over the delays in the automated ticketing system and the train purchase; suggestions are aplenty that DOTC and MRTC officials venture into the trains to experience for themselves the commuters’ daily calvary. They should, if they are to understand the travails of the public they are supposed to serve and to finally grasp the urgency of solving the problem.