More fun in MRT rides unlikely for commuters

This is to call the attention of President Aquino to the very sorry state of our public transport system, more specifically the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) line from North Edsa to Taft Avenue. Can his administration give us fun and comfort in every MRT ride? Also, can our lawmakers and our party-list representatives who claim to be pro-people and pro-poor take a ride in the MRT so they can see and feel for themselves the real world of MRT commuters—meaning, the suffering ordinary people go through when they travel via MRT?

MRT is the fastest mode of travel. That’s why thousands of commuters travel via MRT every day. For me, too. I ride it almost every day from Quezon City to Makati and back. I cannot remember a day (especially during peak hours—from around 7 a.m.-9 a.m. and from 5 p.m.-7:30 p.m.) I took an MRT when I did not experience being stripped of my dignity as a person. Being pushed and “sandwiched” from all sides is nothing new. Passengers can literally smell and hear each other’s breath. No need likewise to hold on to the safety handles, which are not enough because the coaches are so crammed with people such that their pressing bodies are more than enough to keep you from losing your footing.

Can’t something be done to alleviate the plight of MRT passengers? Nothing has improved since I wrote about this problem in the past (“MRT management deaf to commuters’ plaints,” Inquirer, 8/10/10) and (“Politicians urged to take early morning MRT rides,” Inquirer, 11/25/09). That is how insensitive, blind and callous the MRT management is to ordinary people’s suffering. Or are the people running the MRT powerless to act on feedbacks? In fact, I have not seen a single suggestion box in any MRT station, into which people can drop their comments on how MRT can improve its service. No wonder commuters don’t bother to complain. But, doesn’t the “daang matuwid” program of President Aquino also apply to the rehabilitation of our trains?

Let me cite a few “things” that MRT can improve on. The long queue of commuters waiting to buy a ticket is very disgusting. Getting inside a jampacked train is another story. The guards need more than just a stick to inspect bags and packages.

As the saying goes, “To see is to believe” and, to be sure, there remains the challenge for concerned government officials to see for themselves the misery of thousands of MRT passengers.

I look forward to the day when I can say with a smile: “There is more fun in taking the MRT.”

—BELEN DOCENA-ASUELO,
[email protected]