Holiday ordeals

The long weekend was an opportune time to bond with family.   This also meant good business for hawkers and those in the travel industry. 

Not wanting to be dragged into the inconvenience of long lines beneath the sweltering vengeance of the sun’s heat, we decided to take the plane even though the trip cost a little higher considering my schedule is so unpredictable and breaks are hard to plan.  Besides,  the very short trip which gobbled my money away was worth it as family is always worth the time and all it entails.

Thinking I was buying convenience, I was disappointed on my way back, as the airline check- in staff informed us that our plane was cancelled and that was that.  Normally, an airline would serve breakfast or whatever meal you may have missed or would miss due to the delay.  They would also offer you hotel accommodations and transfers.  Sadly,  a hesitant offer to fly us via Manila was given or a choice for land transfer but there were only a few available seats.  The gloomy clouds above made a land trip more enticing.  So we took a fastcraft and aircon bus trip.  Glad that we were not so cramped.

I must have said that too soon since after a while the bus was gathering passengers along the way.  Dead beat with exhaustion after chasing early flights, we initially did not mind the influx of people until the bus became too cramped that the aircon could no longer manage the heat and people were seating on the arm of our chairs causing us to lean uncomfortably to accommodate the passenger, as is the tolerance of the Filipino!

Most of the people were in a jolly mood, just getting back from a holiday but others who were standing without any handrail to hold on to  were busy holding on to the occupied seats. 

The bus was new but it did not have handrails.  The design was obviously for seated passengers only.  Every time the bus would take sudden breaks people would cling  or scramble to hold on to something. 

Although these are common in our islands, I think safety should  take precedence, then the comfort of the people who have parted with their money for a supposedly comfortable ride.  One of the passengers who just got up declared that she preferred to go down since she was paying the right amount but not getting the appropriate service, having been asked to wait two towns more to be able to take a seat.  As she went down, the conductor of the bus made a side comment that she better take a taxi if she wanted comfort.

What are the charters of these passenger vehicles?  Do we allow them to overload?  Is it not overloading to carry more passengers than designed?

The recent bus mishap which claimed lives in the south of Cebu could have served as a warning along with the other similar accidents.  The conductor was unscrupulously loading his bus with more and more passengers that was suffocating.  So that we had to complain for him not to add more passengers as  faces had to literally face butts already.  

I asked  Licensing and Transport Franchise Bureau  (LTFRB) Transportation and Development Officer Reynaldo Elnar to enlighten me on this and he said that it is the Land Transporation Office is the one tasked to apprehend the overloading vehicles.

According to Mr.Elnar, a vehicle is considered “overloaded if the capacity of the said vehicle exceed the sitting capacity” assigned.  This means that if the bus or jeepney has  50 permanent seats then the bus is supposed to carry only 50 and going beyond that with the provision of extensions is not appropriate.

Mr.Elnar further said that indicated in the franchise of the “public service utility vehicles” is the convenience of the liners passengers.  It is therefore the right of the passenger to complain if he or she is not comfortable.  In fact, Mr.Elnar said, the franchise is actually a CERTIFICATE OF PULBIC CONVENIENCE.

So in order not to suffer other inconveniences, passengers are urged to send their concerns and to complain to the LTO who has lodged a complaint portion in their Facebook  and websites. You may also channel your concerns to the numbers listed in the bus, jeepney or taxi as well.

I think it’s about time to level up.  If we do not complain, we also cannot make our operators aware of our ordeal  that it is in fact an ordeal.