My MRT 24/7 Experience of Horror
I'm a commuter. I've been riding all three train lines (LRT1, LRT2 and MRT) ever since I started high school. I used to ride the LRT1 from Quirino to United Nations - Manila Science High School is just three stops from our house. I enrolled at UP Diliman during 2002 and started using the MRT from Taft to Quezon Avenue. During my first job as a special education teacher, I often took the LRT2 from Recto to V. Mapa station. In short, I am no stranger to getting squished, kissing the train's glass door or using my bag to literally jab people so I can get good seats. Now, I'm back in Quezon City, so I'm using the MRT to get home from Quezon Avenue station to Taft. That's quite a long ride. After hearing the news that the MRT was going 24/7 as an experiment, I immediately planned on staying late on the first day of the run. BAD IDEA.
I had something to do in Cubao so I was waiting for the train there at around 10:30 PM. The platform wasn't that packed, there were about 3-4 people for each yellow line on the women's section. There were more on the men's section but not much to compare to the rush hour.
Anyway, I started off waiting with two people on the yellow line. At 10:45 PM, the people increased to about 5-6. At 11:00 PM, there's still no train. Six trains have already passed by the side going north and still no train going south. Some train officer as-a-matter-of-factly said that trains are supposed to come in 30-minute intervals during the MRT 24/7 experimentation. But we got there at 10:30 PM, so there trains should still be coming in in less than 30-minute intervals.
I was carrying a lot and standing there for half an hour isn't nice. My feet were starting to hurt and people were starting to accumulate to about 15 persons in a yellow line. I was so bored I started updating my social networking sites, Facebook and Plurk, on how dreary it is to ride the MRT during the 24/7 shift. Note the timestamps.
So, I waited for about an hour to be able to get home that late. On Taft station's platform, I got a chance to take a photo while I was about to go up the escalator. I'm sure a lot of people were restless that night as well.
I should have taken the bus instead. At least there, I would have been comfortable sitting in an air conditioned vehicle. It would take the same time - more than an hour - to get from Cubao to Taft anyway. What's the point in taking the train?
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