People who know me would gag themselves if they find out that I’m open to commuting. They would instantly remember the temper tantrums I’ve displayed when, at the time of intense need, my driver couldn’t drop me off at my destination. Or they would look back at how resourceful I was to hitch with a friend or actually bribe a friend to drive me around in exchange for wonderful meal. Or probably they would snicker at the thought that I took an easy, yet expensive way of moving around (taxi) when I could’ve suffered in the sweltering heat, exposed to the extreme forms of transportation that are so distinctly Pinoy.
I would not deny that I was all that. Still am. But can you blame me? I was a victim of heat waves, time constraints and “events” constraints that at times I curse the world for letting me commute in such dreaded conditions. I specifically hate the feeling of getting neatly dressed just to feel drained and sweaty in less than 10 minutes as if I ran a 5K marathon in a chamber of soot and carbon monoxide. I also hate the feeling of being late due to incompetent fools who happen to operate the transportation. I don’t like arriving at my destination sweaty, cranky and dirty just because most transportation systems here, backed by the weather, are so inconvenient and so unforgiving to commuters. I’m not being bratty about this. I just don’t believe that anyone is happy to travel at sweltering heat, catching a deadline in shackled transportation with no air conditioning, insanely foul driving surrounded by unhygienic facilities.
But this isn’t the case in a more pleasant transportation conditions I’ve experienced. I’ve experienced commuting in more developed countries and I had no complaints with walking or not having to drive at all. In fact I never wanted to drive if the commuting conditions are so efficient because I would feel that owning a car will actually form as a liability. But here in the Philippines, where streets are cramped and people have no profound sense of discipline, I think commuting is such a pain in the ass.
Humid, tropical weather also helps in the inconvenience, but I still believe that a large weight is accounted by not giving importance to infrastructure and transportation. Insert a culture of “palakasan” and selfishness and you get undisciplined motorists. Roads aren’t enough to accommodate the swerving buses that do not care if they’re making main roads as their own terminals. Jeeps are constant obstacle objects in cramped up streets. Taxis are your ground versions of a roller coaster ride and some transportation are just so unhygienic and maxed out that it’s already hazardous to commuters.
If we could only implement a stricter bus service with a well implemented schedule of their arrival at specific stations, then I think we could eliminate heavy traffic and massive gathering of people. With stricter implementations of schedules people would become more aware and not be like sitting ducks waiting for buses to arrive. It saves people time and effort in depending on each other.
If we could only have regulatory boards that inspect transportation facilities, we could avoid mechanical accidents and dirt spreading around the populace. WE could eliminate the sight of creepy crawlers going from one seat to another. It could create a more positive traveling outlook for all of us.
If we cannot accommodate widening of roads, why not increase Train Stations? For me Trains are my most favorite mode of transportation. It’s faster, it’s more efficient and it can be more supervised and regulated. Imagine if I step out of my village and have a mini-tricycle taking me to the well-maintained train station in Bicutan, with a connecting trip to Makati and connecting stations in the stretch of Ayala, I don’t think I would’ve been happier. It would cost less for me and the travel time would be shortened since it’s scheduled and maintained. It would lessen people depending on cars for metropolitan trips. It would be more regulated and more efficient for people who don’t have enough time or enough resources for gas. It’s good that we have LRT, MRT and LRT2 but I really think these are not enough. Try going to MRT at 6:30 in the morning and tell me about it. There is so much potential to make this land infused with trains. It could even be stretched to provincial reach. That would’ve been excellent.
While I was riding a taxi earlier, I thought of a prepaid system that we could actually use in paying taxis or buses. It would’ve been more convenient to have a prepaid card which the driver would just swipe in their modern-age metering machines as payment transaction. It would avoid us getting short changed by drivers and it could provide a distinct computation as a receipt. I always hate it when I would give more than I should just because the driver and I don’t have enough change. It also sucks to be demanded by the driver to put the payment scheme at our discretion, and if they don’t like how much we paid them, they have the gall to demand for more. It also eliminates the use of cash by just putting up thousands of prepaid centers as reloading centers. And if the transportation modes in this country are integrated, we could even use the card either in trains, buses or taxis. It’s a better way of noting our expenses, and for parents to efficiently budget their kids’ transportation allowances.
Slap me for dreaming.
With the conveniences of public transportation and its accessibility to main points, I don’t see any reason of being queasy about not having cars to get around. I even see it as a more independent way of getting around. It’s so cosmopolitan and liberating. Thinking about it I can envision myself shifting at trains like in Japan, waiting at bus stations in LA and be confident that I’ll get to my destination, minus the traffic and added expenses. Commuting would be such a breeze in this situation otherwise it would only take you a week’s notice here in the Philippines to realize it’s actually crap to the highest level.
No comments:
Post a Comment