Six Ways to Survive a Rush Hour MRT Ride by Joboy Quintos

The Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MRT-3) snakes through the entire length of Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA). It hauls an average of 500,000 commuters a day, way more than its capacity of 350,000. Together with the humid Manila climate, the open-air stations, and discourteous passengers, one's rush-hour MRT commute could turn into a harrowing experience.

Metro Manila Transportation Map (Photo from Wikimedia)

First things first, if you're totally befuddled at Manila's hit-or-miss public transport system, click the photo above to view the Manila Transportation Map - for all it's worth.

Photo from Wikipedia

 To the greenhorn MRT riders, the following tips could be helpful.

1.) Be an Early Bird

There's no better way to beat the morning crush by pre-empting its most congested time span. Manila's three central business districts in Ortigas, Bonifacio Global City, and Makati are located south of its most dense population concentrations. Hence, the rush hour action, if we can call it that, is at the southbound direction.

When riding southbound from the North Avenue station, it's best to board the train before 7:00 AM. After this time, the foot traffic increases significantly. Here's a handy tip: enter the North Avenue station at the Trinoma side, instead of the more crowded Southbound gate. MRT management allows passengers who get in at the Trinoma side to pass underneath a series of stairwells right up to the soutbound side.

More importantly, train breakdowns are common occurences. Bear in mind that the MRT-3 has been running over its designed capacity all these years. Not even the most stringent of maintenance routines can prevent the eventuality of overloaded trains conking out!

2.) Purchase a Stored Value Ticket

If you're boarding the train at rush hour, queing to buy a single-journey ticket could eat up half of your travel time. To escape the snaking, slow-moving lines, a Php 100-stored value ticket is the answer. Riding the entire length of the line costs P15. You can use your stored value ticket seven times. Remember that even if your card has only P1 left in value, you get a free ride.

3.) Protect your Valuables

With a sizable chunk of Filipinos living below the poverty line, Manila has its fair share of thieves, scoundrels and scalawags. The crowded confines of the coaches are fertile ground for these pick pockets. It's better to err on the side of caution - and paranoia. Instead of putting your wallet and mobile phone inside your pant pockets, it is best to put those valuables deep inside your bag. If you're wearing a back pack, carry the bag in front of you.

 Coaches aren't always this spacious. (Photo from Wikimedia)

And don't forget to put on your street face. It might just help in making you a less likely target.

4.) Bring an Extra Shirt

The Philippines is a tropical country. For all the advantages a warm climate offers (i.e. you can't freeze to death, you don't wear several layers of clothing), living in a place where noon-time temperatures can reach 36 degrees Celsius in summer can be quite stifling. Since the coaches are almost always crowded, the commuter should be armed with a spare shirt. 

If you're a salaryman/woman, you might want to neatly fold your work clothes inside your bag. Coming to work in slightly creased clothing is way better than being clad in sweat-drenched business attire.

5.)  Park and Ride

The Trinoma mall offers a cost-effect park and ride system for MRT commuters. Riders can park their automobiles at the strategically placed North Avenue carpark building of the mall for a mere P50 flat rate (during weekdays only). Just remember not to go beyond the 2:00 AM cut-off, lest you be charged the overnight parking rate of P150.

Read: "Trinoma Park and Ride"

6.) Box-out

During rush hour, Filipino patrons of the MRT could get quite rude. As soon as the train doors slide open, the disembarking passengers are instantly pushed by an onslaught of warm bodies. In the rat race to get home early and fast (and cheap at that!), proper manners are quickly forgotten.

MRT riders aren't always this orderly. (Photo from Wikimedia)

Hence, the alighting passengers (as well as those about to board) should possess decent boxing out technique, especially when disembarking (or boarding) at the most crowded stations (Ayala Station, Shaw Boulevard Station, Quezon Avenue and Cubao). Most Filipino males are no strangers to boxing out. After all, there is a basketball in practically every corner in Metro Manila.

In this day and age of high fuel prices and global warming, taking public transportation is the answer to rid your wallet of gas expense and to do your bit for the environment. The MRT, in spite (or because of) its relatively cheaper fares offer a distinct cost-advantage for the price-conscious Filipino commuter. Despite its inherent ills, one's MRT riding experience need not be stressful.

Manila (28 February 2009)

Daniel Burnham once depicted Manila as “possessing the bay of Naples, the winding river of Paris, and the canals of Venice.” The Manila of today certainly doesn't fit this description.

When I was in high school, I used to commute all the way to the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex from our old house in Novaliches, Quezon city. I hated every minute of the hours-long jeepney ride. Manila seemed foreign to me, with its narrow, clogged roads. The heat and the humidity were like an unwanted blanket on a hot summer day. My lungs heaved twice as hard through the smoke-filled air. Everywhere I looked, I saw urban degradation. The city is the microcosm of everything that has gone wrong with our country. What was once a centerpiece of the Pearl of the Orient, is now but a shadow of its old self.

As time passed by, I developed a unique liking to our capital city's environs. Amidst the hazy blur of today's chaotic sights, I saw faint glimmers of Manila's past grandeur.

I recall one particular late afternoon while riding in my friend's car. We were lost in the maze of streets in the Quiapo-Chinatown area. From the road lining the banks of the murky Pasig, I peered at the faded structures of the Escolta across the river. Despite the shady characters looming nearby and the dirt-strewn streets I saw beauty. There and then I realized how beautiful this city of ours is.

I began conjure images of Old Manila basking in its old extravagance. I pictured a city untouched by the ravages of war and hasty urban planning, where one could ride trams, river boats and calesas to enjoy the city's numerous sights.

Hope is not lost, however. Through the years, plans that have sought to breathe new life into Manila has materialized, with the Baywalk as a good example. There's also talk about rehabilitating the Pasig River and plans to repair the art deco-styled Metropolitan Theater.

One often wonders how different Manila would be, had Burnham's plans been followed to the letter. In this day and age, that thought is best left to imagination.

Reposted from my old Multiply blog.