A commuter’s life

I missed my bus to Manila last weekend. It sounds really ridiculous when I think about it now, but during that moment when I realized that the bus left without me, I was desperate to take a cab and run after it wherever it was going!

I was at the Victory Liner bus station in Baguio, 40 minutes before my departure time of 12:10 a.m. I asked the security guard where the deluxe bus to Manila was, and he told me just to wait for it and watch out for the time of departure posted on the windshield. I watched the buses come and go, still waiting for the deluxe bus. At 12:16 a.m., I went to the dispatcher to ask what had happened. “The bus already left.” Apparently, I was totally unaware that my bus was parked at the farthest bay. Or was it my fault that I couldn’t quite understand the PA system? I felt clueless, but is it wrong for me to expect more efficiency in our bus stations, like in Singapore where there were clear directions for loading bays?

I caught the next deluxe bus schedule at 1:10 a.m. I was tired, but I could not fall asleep, because the seat didn’t have any seatbelt and we were going through the zigzag road. However, I was glad that the driver was very steady and not speeding because of the built-in GPS of the buses of Victory Liner. For me, this is a big consolation, given that much of the accidents happen due to human error, according to a study by Dr. Hilario Sean Palmiano of UP-ICE.

I am aware that my commuting experience is peanuts compared to the mounds of pedestrians everywhere. Aside from battling the traffic, it’s an every day contest merely to get into a bus or a jeep.

It can be death-defying, too. I still can’t forget that image of a man sandwiched between two buses. It was horrifying. Add to that the number of bus-related accidents every day. Last month, at least 75 people were hurt in two bus accidents. So many bus accidents and wasted lives. According to the report of Dr. Palmiano, taking the bus is six times riskier for a passenger than taking a car, and five times riskier than taking the jeep or FX!

Once in a while, I still take a taxi, but half the time, I encounter drivers who decline driving me to Makati from Quezon City. I jot down the plate numbers and get the names of the driver, but that’s it. It’s too tedious of a process for busy people to file charges. The arrogant taxi drivers are still there, but now, I’ve learned to manage my expectations, so as not to ruin my day.

As for the tricycles and sidecars, I’d rather walk. There are just too many of them, oblivious to all the traffic rules. The drivers know they can get away with anything — in Quezon City, you see tricycles in main highways and counter-flowing in one-way streets. Some drivers are minors and don’t have a license, and yet they get by. Tricycles are overpopulated, but you don’t see the local government flexing its muscles. Oh well.

Anyway, my favorite means of commuting is the MRT, because it’s fast, but I’d have to beg off on rush hour. The look on the faces of fellow commuters will confirm their miserable experience. In the morning, the commuters look tired, considering their day has only begun. There are plans of improving the ticketing system of the LRT lines. I look forward to that. Hopefully, the needs of people with disabilities and the elderly are considered in the rehabilitation of our trains.

Frankly, I would rather commute than drive in congested Metro Manila, if only the conditions were less prohibitive. I’m lucky because I don’t have to commute, but how about the others?

A food for thought to our newly-elected leaders: “A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars, it’s where the rich use public transportation,” ex-Mayor Enrique Peñalosa of Bogota, Columbia said.

(E-mail me at [email protected] and follow me on twitter for updates @bernadette_ABS.)