Hundreds of passengers of the MRT 2, also known as the Metrostar, failed to make use of their saved time in taking the train as they got stuck at the Taft Avenue station in Pasay City yesterday morning.
Tempers flared up as the MRT patrons shoved each other to free themselves from the jam-packed stairs of the station, as the speedy train ride apparently could not compensate for spending almost an hour just to get down.
What was disgusting was the fact that the problem was very simple to resolve: The floodwaters causing the bottleneck were confined to the bottom of the stairs of the station and so passengers both going in and out were forced to converge and pass by a narrow sidewalk that was above water.
Most of the people who were obviously in a hurry refused to respect the queue, and thus causing others who were pushed to flare up.
Worse, traffic enforcers of the Metro Manila Development Authority were "diligently" arresting jaywalkers despite their lack of ways to avoid the flooded areas of the Edsa extension and Taft Avenue.
The corner of Edsa and Taft Avenue, where the MRT 2 station is located, gets flooded easily after every rainfall – no matter how slight it is.
Aside from bad drainage, another reason causing the floods is the construction project also right down the station. Its blockades and galvanized iron sheets used to cover the diggings have occupied the sidewalk meant for pedestrians.
The MRT 2 became operational in December of last year but had been unpopular because of the steep stairs and dim lights in some of the stations that some commuters find "too far" and thus inaccessible.