"Nagalit pa ang driver, at ang ulo'y uminit... Kumukulo na ang dugo ko. Kaya't sundan mo'ng aking payo..."
That's a line from a song of DJ Alvaro titled "Cool Ka Lang". It's a hit song from the mid-90s about the daily blunders and debacle that the ordinary Juan De La Cruz encounters as he does his daily routines. That particular line is about her misadventures with a jeepney driver who growled and snarled like a lion even if the passenger has done nothing wrong.
The Philippines, particularly here in the Orient Pearl's bustling capital, has one of the most vibrant, eccentric, and chaotic transportation systems on Earth. Public vehicles multiply like Gremlins when spilt with water. The vehicles keep on increasing but roads and infrastructure are not. Add to that the poor driver education and Band-Aid solutions by the MMDA which are ineffective in the long term.
Tonight I will begin a series of personal transportation stories and anecdotes. This is the first part.
As a commuter-from-birth person, I have countless memories about commuting both good and bad. Different experiences on different kinds of transportation. Let's enumerate them one after the other.
JEEPNEY - Long before the days of the Toyota Tamaraw FX share taxis, jeepneys were the real kings of the road. Developed after World War II from surplus American military jeeps, it answered the immediate needs of a new public transportation system that was virtually destroyed by the war.
My earliest recollections with the king of the road was when mum, dad, and I frequent Cubao and Makati. Until a few years before the debut of the FX, we go to Shangri-La by jeepney then later on cross to SM Megamall. My first solo jeepney ride was when I was in the fourth grade. Back then, the minimum fare was PHP3.50.
Fares have constantly risen in the past few years, with only some snippets of a fare rollback. When I became a regular jeepney commuter on the sixth grade, it was at PHP4. Then to PHP5 about only a year later. On my third year high school, it has risen to PHP6 and a new discount scheme was introduced for students, senior citizens, and disabled persons so my fare remained at PHP5. And on my first year college, it has risen to PHP7. It rose again to PHP7.50 just a year later and dipped back to PHP7 but the rollback was short-lived. Just a few months ago it has risen to an all-time high of PHP8.50. Thanks to the continuing reduction of oil prices, a petition to rollback PHP2.50 has been submitted for review to the LTFRB.
In the past 18 years or so as a passenger, I can't help but observe and remember what's happening in and out of the jeepney.
There are problems of grumpy drivers, sardine-tight overcapacity, hunger for passengers, corruption by the traffic police, blaring speakers, to name a few.
Poor driver education is the main reason why so many drivers don't know how to behave and deal properly with their passengers. They get angry at small things even if the passenger hasn't done anything wrong. That's biting the hand that feeds you. Only last week, I sat in front of a jeepney with a driver that wants to be a preacher because he can't stop his fucking shit-filled mouth that kept on blaring cuss words because he was stuck in traffic and that his passengers were mostly students who only paid discounted fares. When I handed him my pay, he blurted out "Tang'na estudyante na naman. Sa inyo na lang pera niyo." (Fucking bitch, another student. Keep your money to yourselves.). He was heard by all the passengers and from the look of the passengers, it seems that they want to bludgeon that son-of-a-bitch driver right on spot.
I hate taking the jeepney from the EDSA Central Terminal. Yes, there are queues of commuters waiting their for turn to ride. However, the scrupulous barkers fill the normally 8-passenger jeep to nine. They keep on shouting "One more! One more!" to force those who are in a hurry to ride the jeepney that already has an atmosphere denser than that of Venus.
Jeepney drivers are also known to eat up more time picking up passengers and filling the jeepney at the expense of their passengers' valuable time.
This one is a bit sensitive though. I have seen blatant corruption of traffic cops right in front of my eyes. The most notorious scallawags are from the city midway between home and school. They would hail innocent drivers and try to make-out a violation even if there was none. But the most disturbing of it all is when I saw one of those alligators accepting bribe to let the driver pass through. The alligator knew I saw the whole thing and he can see the concerned look on my face but as we left, he had a menacing grin as if he's being proud of being a greedy reptile.
Transportation in the Philippines can both be fun and bad, depending on the circumstances of fate. The blind government keeps on having illussions of an excellent transport system when in truth, everything are just delusions.
Watch out for the upcoming parts in the next few days. (Written by JM Reyes, Manila)
That's a line from a song of DJ Alvaro titled "Cool Ka Lang". It's a hit song from the mid-90s about the daily blunders and debacle that the ordinary Juan De La Cruz encounters as he does his daily routines. That particular line is about her misadventures with a jeepney driver who growled and snarled like a lion even if the passenger has done nothing wrong.
The Philippines, particularly here in the Orient Pearl's bustling capital, has one of the most vibrant, eccentric, and chaotic transportation systems on Earth. Public vehicles multiply like Gremlins when spilt with water. The vehicles keep on increasing but roads and infrastructure are not. Add to that the poor driver education and Band-Aid solutions by the MMDA which are ineffective in the long term.
Tonight I will begin a series of personal transportation stories and anecdotes. This is the first part.
As a commuter-from-birth person, I have countless memories about commuting both good and bad. Different experiences on different kinds of transportation. Let's enumerate them one after the other.
JEEPNEY - Long before the days of the Toyota Tamaraw FX share taxis, jeepneys were the real kings of the road. Developed after World War II from surplus American military jeeps, it answered the immediate needs of a new public transportation system that was virtually destroyed by the war.
My earliest recollections with the king of the road was when mum, dad, and I frequent Cubao and Makati. Until a few years before the debut of the FX, we go to Shangri-La by jeepney then later on cross to SM Megamall. My first solo jeepney ride was when I was in the fourth grade. Back then, the minimum fare was PHP3.50.
Fares have constantly risen in the past few years, with only some snippets of a fare rollback. When I became a regular jeepney commuter on the sixth grade, it was at PHP4. Then to PHP5 about only a year later. On my third year high school, it has risen to PHP6 and a new discount scheme was introduced for students, senior citizens, and disabled persons so my fare remained at PHP5. And on my first year college, it has risen to PHP7. It rose again to PHP7.50 just a year later and dipped back to PHP7 but the rollback was short-lived. Just a few months ago it has risen to an all-time high of PHP8.50. Thanks to the continuing reduction of oil prices, a petition to rollback PHP2.50 has been submitted for review to the LTFRB.
In the past 18 years or so as a passenger, I can't help but observe and remember what's happening in and out of the jeepney.
There are problems of grumpy drivers, sardine-tight overcapacity, hunger for passengers, corruption by the traffic police, blaring speakers, to name a few.
Poor driver education is the main reason why so many drivers don't know how to behave and deal properly with their passengers. They get angry at small things even if the passenger hasn't done anything wrong. That's biting the hand that feeds you. Only last week, I sat in front of a jeepney with a driver that wants to be a preacher because he can't stop his fucking shit-filled mouth that kept on blaring cuss words because he was stuck in traffic and that his passengers were mostly students who only paid discounted fares. When I handed him my pay, he blurted out "Tang'na estudyante na naman. Sa inyo na lang pera niyo." (Fucking bitch, another student. Keep your money to yourselves.). He was heard by all the passengers and from the look of the passengers, it seems that they want to bludgeon that son-of-a-bitch driver right on spot.
I hate taking the jeepney from the EDSA Central Terminal. Yes, there are queues of commuters waiting their for turn to ride. However, the scrupulous barkers fill the normally 8-passenger jeep to nine. They keep on shouting "One more! One more!" to force those who are in a hurry to ride the jeepney that already has an atmosphere denser than that of Venus.
Jeepney drivers are also known to eat up more time picking up passengers and filling the jeepney at the expense of their passengers' valuable time.
This one is a bit sensitive though. I have seen blatant corruption of traffic cops right in front of my eyes. The most notorious scallawags are from the city midway between home and school. They would hail innocent drivers and try to make-out a violation even if there was none. But the most disturbing of it all is when I saw one of those alligators accepting bribe to let the driver pass through. The alligator knew I saw the whole thing and he can see the concerned look on my face but as we left, he had a menacing grin as if he's being proud of being a greedy reptile.
Transportation in the Philippines can both be fun and bad, depending on the circumstances of fate. The blind government keeps on having illussions of an excellent transport system when in truth, everything are just delusions.
Watch out for the upcoming parts in the next few days. (Written by JM Reyes, Manila)
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