The plight of Metro Manila commuters is nothing new. For several years, it has increasingly become difficult to navigate major roads and use public transportation even outside of the usual rush hours and busy days.
The train system has been a challenge—and that’s putting it mildly. Over the years, under the previous administration, taking the LRT 1, LRT 2 and especially the MRT 3 which traverses Edsa has proven not just an inconvenience but a real threat to commuters’ safety.
Hundreds of thousands of commuter endure this daily punishment, more taxing than the actual work they have to do in their schools and workplaces. A train ride is supposed to be cheaper and take passengers to their destinations faster, but experience—actual or vicarious —tells us otherwise.
The long lines just to get onto the platform, the shortage of trains that results in bottlenecks at whatever time of day, the less-than-optimal speed at which the trains run, the frequent breakdowns that often result in passengers alighting in between stations, and even defective doors and air-conditioning units are just among the reasons metro commuters would not take the train at all if they had a choice.
For a while, we were relieved to hear that 12 four-car trains were set to arrive in January. Experts say these will improve capacity by 33 percent. Twenty-three car trains are currently running. Alas, the new trains cannot yet be useful because the system lacks the power supply to make them run.
During the Senate hearing on the request for emergency powers to solve transport woes, a Transportation department undersecretary said they were still receiving bids for the power supply and that procurement is expected to be done by the second or third quarter of 2017.
It appears then that commuters have to have more patience as they wait for tangible change to come.
There is no longer any sense in blaming the previous administration’s negligence for the deterioration of the train system, among others. That would sound like something they would resort to. For this hundred-day-old administration that prides itself on drastic measures, however, excuses for failing to deliver decent public services seems out of character.
Wednesday’s Senate hearing highlighted that importance of specifics in laying out a plan. The jarring lack of coordination regarding the improvement of the train system tells us that some bad habits are more difficult to shake off than others.