Unified ticketing system soon in Caticlan, Cagban ports
BORACAY – The unified ticketing system in the Caticlan and Cagban jetty ports will be implemented within the year.
Jetty port administrator Nieven Maquirang said the new system is part of the government loan to enhance the facilities of the jetty ports.
The unified ticketing system costing P33-million is designed for the roll-on roll-off (roro) vessels, pumpboats and for passengers entering the Caticlan and Cagban jetty ports. The environmental, terminal fees and the boat fare, he said, are collected and integrated into one ticket for faster and efficient service for the visitors and residents of Boracay Island.
“For the past years, we received quite a lot of complaints from tourists, especially foreigners, of the present ticketing system. With the unified scheme, we are putting up an ‘all-in-one’ ticketing card to solve the predicament of tourists. At the same time, the share or income of the provincial and local governments, boat operators and fast crafts are directly credited to them within the day,” he said.
Maquirang also stressed the turnstile slots for the comprehensive ticket card and the x-ray machines with metal detector could now be set up this year.
Under the new system, passengers will go direct to swipe their ticketing card in the turnstile, which saves them the trouble to carry loose change for payment of the fees charged to them. Then, they have to wait in the holding area inside the jetty port prior to boarding the pump boats or roll-on roll-off vessels.
Maquirang said the provincial government is also looking into the possibility to introduce the travel ticket cards for tourists entering the Kalibo International Airport in the capital town of Kalibo.
In the first four months this year, Boracay received 92,633 foreigners of the total 291,443 tourists, data of the Department of Tourism showed. (Boy Ryan B. Zabal)
