MRT keen on profits, deaf on riders’ plaints

ON BEHALF of the more than 600,000 hapless daily commuters of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT-3), I appeal, for the nth time, for its rehabilitation. How sad that my articles on MRT service, the last one titled “More fun in MRT rides unlikely for commuters” (Inquirer, 10/11/12) has also fallen on deaf ears. No word from the Department of Transportation and Communications, the agency that is supposed to look into and act on complaints related to transportation.

Instead, I read a full-page ad titled “Metro Pacific Investment Corporation (MIPC) backs P-Noy government’s infrastructure vision for PH” blah blah blah (Inquirer, 10/17/12) and an article that came out in the Inquirer Letters section titled “MRTC board committed to cooperate with DOTC” (Inquirer, 10/20/12).

To ordinary mortals like me, those write-ups were direct slaps on the face of the riding public. Nothing has improved with the MRT; in fact, it has only gotten worse. Many, if not most, escalators and elevators are of no use to commuters. The perennial problem of long passenger queues during peak hours—from 7 a.m.to 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.—remains unsolved. Passengers get pushed against each other and “sandwiched” at every ride. Every morning at Buendia/Gil Puyat station, only a few entrance/exit turnstiles are working. The guard on duty, instead of attending to security matters, collects MRT cards that are good for one-time use. As to how those cards are accounted for, my sane mind can’t fully comprehend.

In my daily MRT torture, how irritating to hear over the loudspeaker with every arriving train these good-for-nothing spiels—“Give way to the elderly, the pregnant women, children, and the disabled,” “Don’t push each other,” “Give way to those who are going out,” “Get to the center,”  etc.—spouted without a tinkle of sincerity simply because there’s no more decent space that can be spared for one more commuter. An MRT ride has become a survival-of-the-fittest journey. Sorry na lang to the weak and physically disadvantaged.

How funny it is that Senators Gringo Honasan and Bong Revilla are, according to news reports, opposed to suggestions of an MRT/LRT fare hike. Seems good, huh? But the issue here is not on the fare. We MRT commuters are more than willing to shell out a little more of our hard-earned pesos, provided we are given enough comfort and space to move and breathe in MRT trains if only to enable us to hold on to our dignity as human beings in an MRT ride.

Thus, given MRT’s current state, increasing MRT fares is definitely adding insult to injury.

Our lawmakers, DOTC officials, and President Aquino should finally give the riding public the long-deserved “fun” in every train ride. This is long overdue, but overdue is better than never. For a good start, it is suggested that they take an MRT ride during any of the peak hours so as to experience the ride of their lives and thus get the feel of how ordinary Filipinos struggle to stay alive going through the hell of MRT rides.

—BELEN DOCENA-ASUELO, [email protected]