Manila trains for half the price: Students, grab your discounted 'Beep' card! Here's how

Getting a 50% student discount on Metro Manila’s trains is about to get much faster.

Starting in September, students can get their own personalised Beep cards that automatically apply the discount.

No need to fill out forms or wait in long lines every day.

The discount programme, announced by Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon on August 13, is a major upgrade from the previous process where students had to show their ID and fill out a transaction slip to get a discounted single-journey ticket.

The process is designed to be simple and on-the-spot. Students just need to visit any station on the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1), LRT-2, or Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) and go to the designated window. You must present a valid school ID or a certificate of registration for the current school year.

The personalised card will be printed for you right then and there.

"If you are a student, you will go to any station in September, you will show your ID, and right then and there, your Beep card will be printed in every station on MRT-3 and LRT-1 and LRT-2, one time," Dizon explained in Filipino.

The cards will be valid for one year and can be used on all three rail lines. According to Dizon, the personalised card is registered to the user and is valid for one year before it needs to be renewed.

To date, these white Beep cards are already available for seniors and persons with disabilities (PWDs).

The update for students forms part of a wider effort to improve the daily commute and make public transport more convenient daily passengers students.