MANILA, NOVEMBER 17, 2010 (STAR) SKETCHES By Ana Marie Pamintuan - Way back in grade school I learned to take mass transportation alone. On days when my father couldn't drive me to school, I would tell the nanny I could go by myself, and she would give me the money for her bus fare. After a few days I would have enough cash to buy myself a bar of Nestlé's chocolate crunch.
Air-conditioned buses were unheard of back then. My school bags always seemed bigger than me and were difficult to lug around, but adults helped me board and get off buses, and I never ran into trouble during the short drive to school. The buses were not crowded, and the air in Manila was still relatively safe to breathe. Sampaguita or jasmine bushes lined the bus route before it turned into the main road.
Years later, in journalism school, my commute became longer from the city of Manila: a combination of jeepney and bus rides to Diliman. Heavy metal blaring from jeepney stereos must have permanently damaged my eardrums.
We called ourselves – students who commuted by bus and jeepney to school – jeepsetters.
I memorized all the words of wisdom for jeepsetters: Basta driver, sweet lover. Upong (current jeep fare) po lamang. Barya lang po sa umaga. Passing side (left); suicide (right).
What would become known as Metro Manila was starting to get crowded at the time, and the air-conditioned "Love Bus" was introduced. But the buses with no air conditioning, particularly the red ones, remained the most popular. Around the University of the Philippines campus, only the "ikot" jeepneys were more ubiquitous than the red buses.
At the time the red buses were already creaking with age, and it wasn't too long before they were phased out.
My jeepsetting days ended when I learned how to drive. By that time air pollution in Metro Manila had become bad enough to make car air-conditioning a necessity. But along jeepney routes, the symbol of gaudy, dirty and inefficient Pinoy transportation endured.
Transport operators have since bought newer buses, but those that are not air-conditioned are still more popular than the air-conditioned ones, even if the difference in fares is minimal.
Regular commuters explained to me that bus air conditioning typically doesn't work or is weak when the vehicle is crowded or on warm days. Foul odors tend to get trapped in the bus. So why pay more for the discomfort? In the open buses, air pollution is of course awful, but at least the ride is not stuffy.
Because air-conditioned buses are less popular, their drivers wait longer for passengers at every stop and the ride takes longer, commuters explained to me. So they prefer buses without air conditioning, jeepneys, or, when possible, FX taxis.
In addition to traffic and pollution, commuters risk being mugged in buses and jeepneys. In the city of Manila, snatchers grab earrings and necklaces from jeepney passengers while the vehicle crawls along traffic-choked streets.
All these inconveniences make the overhead railway systems hugely popular. The fare is cheaper than those of buses and jeepneys, the air conditioning is adequate, there's no traffic and the stopovers are brief.
But the railway coaches are almost always so packed you could miss your stop if you don't manage to approach the doors shortly before you arrive at your destination. Women can get molested in the crush of the crowd. There are coaches exclusively for women and the elderly, but these are also packed.
This is the best of the Philippine mass transportation system, circa 2010.
* * *
Among the things that make visiting another country delightful is an efficient mass transportation system, preferably with directions that foreigners can understand. It's more fun not to be at the mercy of foreign guides, and to be able to explore a new place by yourself.
In Paris you can visit by yourself every major tourist spot in the city simply by taking the subway, and you don't even have to speak French. The same is true of the big cities in the United States. Most Manhattan residents do not bother owning a car; the New York subway system is so efficient.
Subways, buses and high-speed trains interconnect Europe, and this has surely been a boon for tourism across the continent. Moscow needs more English translations for its public signage, but the city's magnificent subway stations are tourist attractions in themselves.
In Asia the level of economic development is reflected in the mass transport system. Singapore has highly efficient subway and bus systems, with directions provided in several languages. Japan and South Korea also boast world-class mass transport systems, but a foreigner needs to understand their language for better mobility.
China has relegated the ubiquitous bicycle to alleys, parks and country roads, and is rushing to provide mass transport facilities and infrastructure befitting its status as an emerging global power.
Our status as the region's economic laggard is reflected in our transportation infrastructure and our inefficient mass transport system. The inefficiency guarantees that private car ownership will continue to rise, even if people realize it means more traffic because there is no corresponding expansion in the road network.
Trains could ease traffic, but we can't even upgrade the Luzon railway without the project becoming bogged down in a corruption scandal.
The inadequate mass transport system is aggravated by inefficient traffic management. At the intersection of EDSA and Ayala Avenue/McKinley Road in Makati, for example, westbound traffic is always slow because buses linger four deep for passengers, leaving only a lane or two for other vehicles to pass.
The Metro Manila Development Authority implements a scheme to reduce traffic along EDSA and bus operators respond by staging a strike, stranding thousands of commuters.
Mass transport in my Nestlé's chocolate crunch days seems better.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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