THE transport industry is working “double time” in digitalizing and modernizing public transportation.

Lawyer Vigor Mendoza II, Chairman and President of 1-United Transport Alliance Koalisyon (1-UTAK) and fleet operator of Beep Jeep o “Bagong Jeep” said in an interview that their group is going full blast in digitalizing all their system.

Mendoza II or “Mr. Transportation Man” said “Beep Jeep” group or “Bagong Jeep” is working to transform all their system from best practices and procedures to the new digital system.

“Noong una akala hindi kaya, pero dahil sa political will, tulong kasama ang gobyerno, private institutions, drivers, operators at mga pamilya at pagsunod na rin sa ‘Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program’ (PUVMP), eto na tayo ngayon moving forward at mahusay na pinatatakbo natin ang jeepney modernization program,” said Mendoza II.

Mendoza said back in 2019, the adoption of the Automated Fare Collection System (AFCS) was only at the 20-unit level for land transportation, but by 2022, despite the pandemic, 3,256 buses had adopted the program (AFCS) to their system.

Today, about 1.2M passengers are satisfied with the convenience of cashless payments on land transportation.

EDSA Carousel was one of the first routes to adopt AFCS and modern jeepneys with the same equipment.

Mendoza said Beep Jeeps has successlly migrated to 95% cashless in their units as of 2020.

Mendoza said Beep Rides is looking to push for 10,000 units by the end of this year.

“Easy to use, convenient, safe ‘no contact’, isang tap lang credited na ang pamasahe, talagang mahusay na maganda pa,” said Mendoza.

Mendoza said that there are now nine retail stores accepting BEEPRides cards as payments, and BEEPRides is currently looking to increase its retail store to at least 1,000 in Marikina before the end of 2022 through a P200M expansion project.

The program for migration to retail will be moved to other Metro centers such as Cebu, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Baguio, Pampanga, and Metro Manila-wide.

“Ang big picture ay sa buong bansa gagamitin natin ang ‘cashless’ payment transaction sa lahat ng mga public transportation para sa convenient ng public commuters,” said Mendoza.

In their meeting with Liga ng Barangay sa NCR (National Capital Region) President Ziffred Ancheta of Bgy. Tumana in Marikina, Mendoza said that operators, drivers, and investors are 100% fully supporting the program.

“Bilang presidente ng Liga ng Barangay sa NCR, isusulong namin ang suporta sa mga ganitong programa para sa ikauunlad ng bawat barangay sa Metro Manila, malaking bagay na magiging convenient at mas efficient ang magiging sistema sa pagne-negosyo sa transportation,” said Ancheta.

“Naniniwala din kami ang papasok na administration ni President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ay susuportahan ang programa na ito ng 100%,” said Mendoza II.