I commute to work on a daily basis. I wake up at around 6:00 AM to make sure that I arrive at the MRT station before 6:30 AM. If I arrive any later than that, I basically missed my chance to make it to my 7:30 AM class in Makati.
My teaching obligations end at 5:30 PM. Everything that happens before 5:30 PM, I consider a privilege. I get paid to talk about things that I like talking about. But after 5:30 PM, that’s when the real work begins.I’m talking about the rush hour commute between 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM. The experience is unpleasant, stressful, unproductive, and time-consuming.
In the station I often ride the train from, the MRT platform has a pathway that links it to the Alphaland Mall. The platform links to the third floor. The line, however, often extends to the entrance of the mall. During rush hour, it would take more than 30 minutes just to get to the MRT platform. And let’s not talk about the shoving, grinding, swearing, and cramping that happens once inside the train.
Deep inside everyone who takes the MRT at this time feels that something about this experience is extremely wrong. Everyone that takes alternative means of transportation, via buses, feels equally as miserable. I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but the feelings we all have about our commute is correct – it’s bad for us.
In the article “Your Commute is Killing You,” Anne Lowry discusses how long commutes can make us fat, cause neck pain,increase our feelings of loneliness, cause stress, and may even lead to divorce. According to her, researchers at Umea University in Sweden discovered that, “Couples in which one partner commutes for longer than 45 minutes are 40 percent likelier to divorce.”
In the same article, she mentions how a survey done by Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman and Princeton economist Alan Krueger reveals that among common activities that 900 Texan women share, they find commuting in the morning the most unpleasant.
The misery of the commute extends to other areas of a person’s life. It was revealed in a report by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index that workers with lengthy commutes report more adverse emotional conditions.
Commuting Isolates Us from Fulfilling Relationships
Robert Putnam is another name that was mentioned in Lowry’s article. Robert Putnam is a Harvard political scientist and is the author of “Bowling Alone.” According to Putnam, every 10 minutes we spend on our daily commute results in 10% fewer social connections. He warns that our social capital is plummeting, and our lives and communities are becoming impoverished. We, as a society, belong to fewer organizations, know our neighbors less, meet with friends less often, and spend less time with our families.
Personally, I spend almost 10 hours a week commuting to and from the office. As much as I can, I try my best to spend Sunday lunch with my siblings and my grandmother. We would sit at the same table and chat from around 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. That’s 3 hours.
Sometimes, if I am lucky, I can spend an evening having dinner with a few friends. We’d meet at around 7:00 PM, but we’d have to part ways before 11:00 PM because I have to be at the MRT platform by 6:30 AM. I can honestly say that I spend more time at the commute with strangers than I do with my friends and family. That sucks.
Commuting is Unpaid Work
Mentioned in Lowry’s article is another study by Thomas James Christian of Brown University. According to Christian’s research,each minute spent at the commute reduces our exercise time, our food preparation time, and our time for sleep. The length of our commute also determines our propensity for making non-grocery food purchases.
In other words, if we often find ourselves in long commutes, we tend to buy unhealthy food knowing that we will have no time to prepare healthier meals when we get home. Other people,in their desire to avoid the rush hour, would have dinner at a fast food instead to kill time. In both cases, we’ll be spending more, eating less healthy, and we’ll be having less time and energy for exercise because we’re too tired.
When we compute for how much we’re earning, one of the invisible liabilities we often forget to acknowledge is the cost of commuting.
According to Lowry’s article, two economists at the University of Zurich quantified the value of how much more a worker should be compensated to make even just an additional hour of commute worthwhile.
In the paper entitled, “Stress That Doesn’t Pay: The Commuting Paradox,” economists Bruno S. Frey and Alois Stutzer found that for an extra hour of commuting, a worker has to be compensated with a 40% increase in salary, just to make it worthwhile.
In other words, don’t work for a far location if the salary difference is minimal. If you’re working at an office 15 minutes away for P14,000, the same work SHOULD pay you P19,600 if it’s 1 hour and 15 minutes away. If it’s 2 hours away, the same work SHOULD pay you P27,440. Anything less and you’re incurring a loss.
The time we spend commuting takes a major toll on our lives. We experience neck and back pain,spend less time with friends and family, experience loneliness, spend more, get fat, exercise less, sleep less, worry more, and get stressed.
80% of Filipinos are commuters. 80% of Filipinos will have their happiness and their health compromised. Every minute we spend in the MRT line or on a bus along EDSA is a minute of work that we did for free. It is a minute with a loved one that was taken from us. It is a minute we could have invested in our own physical or intellectual development. It is a minute we could have spent preparing a healthy meal. It is a minute we could have spent with our children. It is a minute of our lives that was wasted.
Apparently, it’s not just our money, our taxes, that corrupt and inefficient government officials can squander. They’re wasting our lives: one minute at a time, one peso at a time.
I visit the Philippines every two years, and it always makes me feel so excited to be there and enjoy my family and country. But when I think about the horrendous traffic in Metro Manila and our area in Cainta and Taytay, it just sucks all the excitement out of me. From Taytay to Quezon City or to Ortigas will take you almost two hours. Everywhere is a clusterfuck (pardon my French.) You really waste a lot of time commuting. I know the government is doing their best to improve the situation and I commend them for that. I just hope it’ll get better sooner than later.
I think, the government is not doing its best. I think, sometimes, it even makes the problem worse.
As usual, amazing work, Sir Dustin. I am proud to have been your student 🙂
Is he a teacher? His grammar is so bad that I can hardly understand what he is saying.
Nice point @justsaying… the mere focus of the article is to enlighten us with the serious effects of long commute (we’re not even talking of distance) and how the government failed to improve the transportation system. More than a decade ago, the government was already all-praise on how efficient the transport-system of HK and SG. Now, it’s already 2015 and all they can do still is wishful thinking that they can do the same to PHL, and blame corruption, etc… Ever heard of the word PLANNING?! We kept on inviting businesses to come over yet we never know how to keep them. Metro Manila is long been congested. If they can’t control the employee population, at least they should plan out how we can make everyone mobile. Transportation is like the veins that connect us all. As critical to our economy, it’s also a sector that helps our society to grow.
This is one of the reasons why a lot of Filipinos are considering home-based career opportunities. Working from home means being free from the hassles and costs of commuting, meaning there are less money, time, and energy wasted.
If you have good command of the English language, you can explore teaching English online as a Home-Based e-Educator at 51Talk (http://51talk.ph). You can work part-time or full-time, and in the comfort of your own home. All you need are desktop or laptop computer, wired Internet connection, Skype ID, and TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number).
There is also a promo where in you get to have a sign-up bonus and a chance to win a laptop and an iPhone 6 if you start teaching this February.
Love this article Sir Dustin. I’m very proud to have been your student 🙂
this is what happens when government officials steal from the people.
the best way to ebb traffic in EDSA? ban private cars in EDSA… reroute them to roads less used. EDSA, if you really observe it from above, is 70% private cars. EDSA is the main conduit to all places but please, there are other alternate routes. LET OUR TAXES WORK. HAVE MMDA MAKE ALTERNATE ROUTES FOR PRIVATE CARS AND MAN THEM UNTIL PEOPLE ARE USED TO THOSE ALTERNATE ROUTES!
not realistic…the other way around may work…shift all buses run on MRT platform either by changing their wheels or flatten the tracks…this way you get buses out of EDSA…and you can have buses to finally run on cue (without overtaking) stop and go shall be 20 seconds at a time so commuting public will not have to wait long for trains….this avoids maintenance, corruption..and no need for new roads in EDSA…best of all can be achieved all in a month….replace MRT with buses must be easier and cost efficient to do that all other ideas combined
That is the stupidest comment I have read this week on internet
Kaya dapat magmotor na kayo.. Tipid na sa pamasahe, walang pang hassle na pumila at makipagsiksikan sa mrt at bus. Life in the PH is much easier if you have a MC. 🙂
If everyone gets a motorcycle it’s bad too. In Indonesia most of the populace own motorcycles- the traffic is still horrendous. At the end of the day it’s still a vehicle; without the proper infrastructure to handle vehicles, wala din.
sobrang agree ako dito. ubos ang oras sa daan, buti kung makakapag internet ka ng maayos para productive ang biyahe. Isipin mo kulong ka sa kulob na espasyo tas walang trabaho nagaganap.
“commuting is unpaid work” — agree!
aaaaaand, do you propose nothing to improve this so called life-waster? Nothing to save each and every minute wasted which you have mentioned? If nothing, this is kind of a cliffhanger read :/ all whine and no solution. Let’s not worsen the stress of our fellow commuters and all find ways together to make it better instead of acknowledging just the bad stuff (and the bad stuff under the bad stuff) and making everyone agree with it. #commuterdinpoako
Sorry, Jul, but as citizens it is not our job to come up with solutions. That’s why we have a government to do that for us. It is, however, our job to vote for a well-informed, cause-driven, for-the-people government. Unfortunately, they don’t exist in this country.
Ang hirap talaga gumawa ng article.. maraming nagcocomment na out of context or mas binibigyan pa ng focus yung “bkit hindi na lang magrent sa mas malapit, etc..” I think the writer is pointing na sana kung efficient lang ang transport system natin and hindi corrupt government officials (considering hindi nagcocommute ang mga officials na ito since may service vehicle sila at may fleet cards for gas which we, average earners, who pay correct amount of taxes, eh tayo ang mas nahihirapan – try kaya nila na sila mag commute at makipagsiksikan sa mrt?).. Given sa situation ng writer na kahit sa malayo ka pa manggagaling, you don’t have to face all these things. Imbes na suportahan natin yung writer since we have common goal, siya pa yung kini-criticize.. Moving forward, let us just think a best way para naman ma-address yung problem. On my own opinion, dapat nga tayong average earners ang dapat gumagamit ng magandang services ng provided ng government since tayo ang talagang nagbabayad ng tamang buwis.. ang mahirap lang hindi tayo makapagreklamo since may work tayo. Mas pipiliin pa na magtrabaho na lang since yun ang source of income natin while yung pagtapos ng trabaho or weekend, mas pipiliin na ipahinga na lang or spend time with love ones..
All well and good. Now, for the average Filipino commuter, what’s the alternative? Telecommuting? Yeah, right! Try telecommuting your factory job from home. The sad fact is, there is no alternative. You want to work? You commute. Or get your own mode of transport. Short of sprouting your own wings, that as well is another that comes with its own set of problems. What choice do you have? Between zero and none!
No choice does not equate to not doing anything. We need to learn to voice our concerns properly to expedite the creation of alternatives, or of more efficient methods. Call whiners whiners, but we can’t accept the status quo.
Love the article except about the study regarding divorce and commutes leading to divorce. All the paper establishes is correlation and not causality.
mas nagulat ako na you wake up at 6am para before 6:30 nasa MRT kana. Seriously? Wala na ligo2? Lol
I think what he mean is 6am leaving from house not time of his
wake up.
Naiisp ko nga din yun? Ilang mins ang layo ng station sa bahay niya, ilang mins siya naligo, ilang mins siya nagbihis, iang mins siya kumain. mas malamang hindi na nakapag ayos ng higaan.
Kung lahat nagagawa niya in 30, kagulat gulat nga yun. =)
Commuting is inevitable of you live outside of Metro Manila. You have to deal with it. If you have the money to spend, rent a place near your work. If you have no choice, try other means of transport. I live in Biñan Laguna and I work in Mandaluyong. Every Friday, I use a bicycle to go to work. I utilize buses and jeeps to get to my place of work. Let us not place our fate in MRT alone. Utilize every means possible so as to minimize stress.
yep. get a walking distance job. i wont trade my job here in the province for that mess. aircon pa lagi.kahit s pinaka liblib na kalsada aircon. baguio baby! hehe
kahit na provincial rate. magaan naman sa commute
The metro is facing the following dilemmas and options below after exhausting the short term solutions to counter population:
1. Restructuring the roads and routes
– This means temporary (yet damaging loss of possible income the commuters make)
– Will need a lot of funds.
– Will worsen traffic flow during re-construction.
– Will affect the existing businesses and establishments the usual commutes and utility vehicles affect. Big big adjustment. The toll affects everyone.
2. Alternative means of transportation.
– None. They launched the e-jeepneys, but only added space on the streets (as any other means will do the same).
– They have utilized buses before, but now changed their mind thinking these big BUSES (accommodating 30-40 passengers) are the worst kind of traffic contributors, as opposed to these individuals using their own vehicles (imagine if they use their own vehicles instead of using public utility transits).
Here’s the scenario:
Exhibit A
[THIS IS A BUS WITH 40 PAX]
VERSUS
Exhibit B
[CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR],
[CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR],
[CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR],
[CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR],
[CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR], [CAR],
Obviously, Exhibit B shows and promotes heavier traffic. But what did the road officials do? They banned BUSES. Limited their routes.
Their only option is to ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT and combine these two. Lately their plan is to add more railways, building along the already existing structures, neglecting the fact that they can permanently solve this by trashing everything away and starting on a clean slate.
Do they know this? Absolutely. Do they have plans of implementing it? Sure, but either way they have to sacrifice something. Do we have the money for it? ABSOLUTELY. Will they want to utilize it for it’s purpose? Will probably involve another scam, but eventually, maybe. Are the ones in-charge capable of executing such feat? NO.
Go figure.
Clean slate? What, destroy everything? The buses were banned because they caused traffic more than proportional to their size by swerving, parking along the road, etc. All of these create larger disruption than their size. That and most were veritable road hazards.
New roads, buses that follow rules, no jeeps (rather e-jeeps), better transit system, a substitute for number coding. It’s not that hard really. There’s disruption and it costs a lot, but the solution is hardly complicated.
good that you itemized the issues, but the idea of banning buses was cut short….here’s a solution:::remove all buses on EDSA, remove MRT trains in it’s tracks, either change the buses’ wheels to run on rails or flatten the way so buses can run on MRT flatform…no need to do all other ideas, avoids corruption, doable in a month’s time,,,no waiting in long lines, buses get to run on cue without overtaking and swerving and stoping to each existing station 20 second intervals….focus on this solution alone and life gets better for all riding public. only if they can think…
Actually overpopulation also contributes to this. There are too many people living in and around manila. Thats why the train stations are having these awful long queues. I hope the government could build new train lines or subways which would be really great. But i doubt it.
I agree wholeheartedly with this article. As a commuting student, just the daily grind getting to school and back is terrible. It’s especially problematic whenever our weather turns for the worse. A lot of my friends live 2~3 hours from our campus and usually only get the notice that classes are suspended when they’re already on the way, which means they have to double back, and in the rain too.
Weather aside, it’s not just the atrociously long lines and traffic that’s making commuting bad. Our MRT and LRT are in terrible condition. I’ve taken commuter trains in other countries and can attest to this. Our commuter vehicles are also in questionable shape, judging from the increasing number of bus accidents happening recently.
true,,.. 🙁
I know where your coming… I was once a commuter of LRT, MRT and LRT line 2. I lived in the Metro for almost half of my life, way back when i was college student, 2nd course after college and got a high paying job. But when i got married we decided to settle in the province where my mom lives up north. I got a good job although the compensation is 1/2 of what used to received but i wouldn’t trade my job here in the province. even if you will offer me 3x as much as my previous salary.
i may not be receiving as much as the employees working in the Metro but i can say I have the best privileges that money cannot buy. Time with my family. time with my self. fresh air and most of all no traffic and no long waiting line in the stairs of train stations. Now, i can say i am saving a lot of time as well as money away from all the pollution and stress of the Metro living.
we dont need to blame anybody by the choices we made. we choose to work in the busy cities of Metro Manila we need to endure all the consequences. we need not blame the government for pursuing our dreams to work in the country’s top companies. Its always our choice. why blame others or even the government.
kudos, well written, I did enjoy the relationship of commuting to happiness. Years ago I was one of those you can who passed the transitional period of enduring the MRT experience, I used to live in Don Antonio, Common Wealth and I had to commute all the way to Makati – Amorso street. I had to take a tricycle to get out of the subdivision, then take the bus all the way to Quezon ave. then take the MRT from that station all the way to Magallanes, take another jeepney all the way to Amorsollo.. and that took about 2 hours if i set off at exactly 6am il be in the office by 8am sharp but the in the evening it will be far worse .. im sure most of you would know.. the traffic situation in manila.. but through it all I have endured it and grew stronger, it somehow developed a discipline that became an internal system, and now that I am out of the country I look at it as a stage, a phase where I grew, learned and became stronger. Looking back … yes I can say that there is a relationship between commuting and happiness.. and this is true most of the time .. all those waiting .. falling in line.. squeezing your self to get.. it makes us sad.. but then again as we all said.. It just a phase for most of us who will endure the MRT experience..
I agree with you 101%. Last year, I was fortunate to be hired by an I.T. Company somewhere in Quezon Avenue. Riding the MRT day in and day out was very stressful! Going to work, I have to squeeze myself into the crowd at Cubao station. Even if I’m going Northbound, I still have to fall in line with the rest of the commuters (which ard 95% Southbound). I cannot undertsand why they can’t have a separate line for those going North. Anyway, when I get off at the Quezon Avenue station, I have to go down 3 floors because the elevator is “under repair.” By the time I get to the Office, I’m already sweaty and stressed out. Now, going home….upon reaching Quezon Avenue station, I can already see the line of people that usually spills over the sidestreet. Since the escalator and elevator are both “under preventive maintenance” I have to go up 2 floors. Upon reaching the platform, another snake-like line will hit you. I feel so sorry for the elderly and pregnant women. It usually takes 2-4 trains to pass by before I can get in. For 8 long months, I have been commuting this way. I finally decided to end my misery and filed my resignation last October. I realized that the agony and stress of commuting to work everyday was not worth it. Why was I punishing myself? I am angry because I feel that the Government is not doing anything to solve the problem. Why can’t our MRT system be like Singapore or Hongkong? If they can do it, why can’t we?
it’s the share of the government spending millions of pesos a day to all commuters of mrt and lrt. you are all lucky benefited with the revenues of all Filipinos. How about giving a part of the revenue to all Filipino commuters all over the Philippines of whatever means of paid transportation equal to the amount paid by the government as subsidy to commuters of lrt and mrt so that Filipinos all over Philippines will be benefited also and we can call it a country and not Metro Manila.
Don’t get butthurt. You’re failing to see a bigger picture – that the money is going to go to this anyway. The subsidy is there.
The real problem is that, while the government funnels citizens’ money into the subsidy, they subsequently funnel money into their pockets instead of finding and funding a way for more efficient transit so that the subsidy isn’t even needed anymore. Ever think of that? People complain because this isn’t right.
For you to say shh, wag ka na magreklamo, buti nga may subsidy ka eh. Is just plain wrong.
imagine that! took 17 years for someone to stand up and say something. kudos to you sir! mind you, i was a commuter in college too (no,not mrt, jeepney & lrt). taft avenue is tough, i had a necklace snatched, braved through the flood and even had to walk from magallanes to merville in the dark. not to mention that i was already doing that in HS at 5 in the morning to get to class on time and then there was still med school and the commute to cavite. its one tough country to stay and i salute those who do. but im thankful because men, that made me one tough gurl, laughing at my adolescent patients with first world problems!
who do we blame it too? the government? of course! but does it exist?
TRUE
The word “commute” in the studies you mentioned means different from your understanding – the common Filipino misunderstanding of the word, which is “commute via public transport”. Commuting can also be via private car. And yes, it’s stressful too.
Very interesting. Love the points you brought up. Love the conclusion! Although this is far-fetched: “Couples in which one partner commutes for longer than 45 minutes are 40 percent likelier to divorce.”
Remember, correlation doesn’t always equal causation.
Nevertheless, this is still a brilliant article. I already got tired of commuting that when possible, I don’t commute to far places. One jeep (within 4 km) is enough for me. Sometimes I’d go as far as 8 km when needed. Anything farther than that is really tiring and time consuming.
We can just relax. We can just not take it too seriously. We can just “look into the bright side” etc. But we can’t still deny this kind of traffic is embarrassingly pathetic. Haaay Philippines.
Our government know nothing but exploit its people. This is what came into my mind when I commuted last Monday because my car is coding.
Even if I don’t ride MRT from house to work, I strongly agree with this sentiment. Government say that they are fixing problems with transportation, nah!! It’s getting worst. I live in Quezon City and work in Quezon City but I travel one and half hour and more every day.
I heard one commentator In a radio station who suggested to dispose cars that are 10 years and older as a solution to heavy traffic . That is extremely a stupid idea. We are not as rich as other countries like Singapore to do that. Disposing it and adding tax to it is NEVER as solution.
Improve the public transportation. Improve subway. Add and Organize busses. This, my self proclaimed intelligent leaders will absolutely solve the problem. Well, I think they already know this, but they chose not to make this an option since this will not benefit them.
My beloved government, don’t wonder why our citizens would want to be citizens of other nation!
Recently there is a news about Japan presenting $57-B ‘dream plan’ to solve Metro congestion. I think it’s just a proposal but hopefully this could be the awaited solution for our daily commuting problems.
Masyado na kasi maraming nakikipagsapalaran sa Maynila, lahat gustong sumakay ng MRT. Mura daw kasi, mabilis pa. lahat na yata ng tao sa pilipinas, sumasakay ng MRT. kaya kahit anong gawin ng gobyerno para maayos ang byahe… lagyan pa yan ng Barbed Wire, gawin pang robot ang piloto, kahit dagdagan pa ng ISANG LIBONG bagon ang mga tren… walang mangyayari! DI NYO BA NAIINTINDIHAN? SOBRANG DAMI KASI NG TAO SA MAYNILA! HINDI TALAGA KAKASYA SA MRT LAHAT! isip isip naman paminsan minsan… di yung lagi na lang kayong reklamo ng reklamo.
Haaay another one. If citizens do not complain, they accept the status quo. Nothing changes.
It is still the government’s job to address these problems. If proper policies for countryside development were pushed for, maybe Manila wouldn’t be so crowded.
This is a good article. I think the MRT was built during ramos administration and they did not anticipate that about 15 years later it would be over its capacity during peak hours. Last time na nasa manila ako, the mrt was still in its infancy and medyo okay pa na sakyan, hindi masyadong congested and it was cheap tapos mabilis and reliable now when people realized this then everyone started to take mrt. The government was unable to handle the amount of people that takes mrt. Binalewala nila ang increased ridership ng mrt until it is over capacity na. It became a part of our commute at nasanay na tayo; now imagine kung walang MRT di ba? For a car owner, bakit ako mag-car papunta ng edsa kung sa mas murang halaga makapag-train ako di ba? I was in manila just 3 months ago and i experience commuting at MRT on rush hour and it wasnt a pleasant experience at all. Bukod sa ang haba ng pila, grabe ang tulakan, walang bigayan. Everyone is at their edge trying to get home. Heto here is some thoughts or observations that i think may ease up. Siguro make the train line run frequently; like i notice kse na trains typically come at least 10 mins which i think is completely unacceptable. I think dapat they run at least 5 mins para di masyadong marami ang naghihintay. Maybe designate special buses na ang route is along edsa. That way mabawasan yung congestion ng tao sa train. Also maybe run the MRT on a 24 hour basis. On a long term kailangan every administration has a bold plan. Dapat merong new Train system every administration di ba? Imagine nung time ni ramos nagawa yung isa eh di dapat this time meron ng 4 kse apat na presidente na ang nakalipas( estrada, arroyo, aquino) na MRT instead of just one. Unless government figure out a way out of this horrible commute; im afraid na its going to get worse pa. I suggest a a dialogue perhaps from different leaders of transportation? Say like yung mga bus operators, jeepney, taxis, police and come up with a bold plan on how to ease traffic..
I particularly like the analysis presented by Herbert Docena relating transportation to issues of class (MRT and the violence of our mass transport system, http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/55402-mrt-…. Worth a read if you’re looking to expand everyday experience into a wider societal context.
Our government should observe other methods from other countries. Like getting a ticket or token for the ride. A row of card dispenser would definitely help or invest more skyway trains!
I completely agree with the article, and your sentiment as a commuter rings true for me (and many people I know). I endured nearly two years of commuting from Quezon City to Makati, all that for the love of my work. I was stubborn enough to not stay close to work and wing the ‘public commute experience’. Anyone and everyone who takes the MRT could feel that something about the experience is dreadful and draining.Something’s not right about the seeming apathy to people wasting their time lining up everyday. I’ve been in countries with similarly large city populations but with much better, more connected MRT/tram and public transport. Every time I think of my days commuting, I sigh. These days, I live in a much smaller city, 10 minutes away from work, much happier.
Nice article on commuting in Metro Manila. I am doing a research on it, specifically on commuting stress and adaptation of passengers using the MRT-3.
If you’re a regular MRT-3 commuter during the morning peak hours or know someone who is, could you kindly answer this survey? http://www.bit.ly/MRTsurvey (Option to receive free P100 prepaid load as compensation). Thanks 🙂
I really don’t understand why people still continue to squeeze themselves in Metro Manila when the some places in the provinces are like ghost towns.. I stopped living in the Metro and decided to work online in the province instead.. I still get great work output with a lifestyle that is much more comfortable.
People are forced to flock to Metro Manila because they can’t find work elsewhere. The various schemes that were attempted to address the traffic congestion problem show a lack of insight into the real cause of the problem. The government needs to think outside of the box, or in this case, outside of Metro Manila. A more lasting solution to the problem is to develop the countryside; invest in infrastructure and institute programs that attracts businesses to invest in the provinces and provide jobs to millions of highly educated but unemployed/underemployed probinsiyanos.
Completely agree with you, Shei. Also, those who’ve been in Singapore and similar countries will know that it’s possible to develop provinces without compromising our beautiful Nature, without polluting it. (But only if people will learn to throw their waste properly!)
I stopped reading after reading that you don’t take a bath in the morning.
It does happen. really
Commuting takes that time away from you. 😀
LOL!
That’s why i like Dubai metro, The whole station is air conditioned and can accommodate a lot of passenger while waiting for the train (every 5 minutes the train comes) http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wY6PyHScywc/T_-Yge1D6lI…
http://uthmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/duba…
Ramir, please don’t compare Dubai and Manila. The Dubai metro is efficient in Dubai alone. If you bring that in Manila, it will not withstand the volume of commuters we have in Manila simply because a small percentage of Dubai resident uses the metro whereas the Manila MRT is a mode of transportation for most Manila and neighboring provincial commuters.
“I wake up at around 6:00 AM to make sure that I arrive at the MRT station before 6:30 AM.”
im not sure how far or where you live from the MRT station. but 6AM-630AM sounds like you opened your eyes, did not took a bath, all things already packed and just went straight to the MRT station. Also, you should have put in the from-and-to MRT station. at least i know where alphaland is.
I am guilty of that too, especially on Mondays. 😀
Worst airport. Worst train system. Daredevil bus ride. Maritime sink list.
My goodness current leaders won’t give a single F*. Reality check they (including their relatives) don’t commute everyday in the first place. Riding their ass in luxury cars so why give attention to the commuting public anyway.
On the other hand the large number of idiotic gullible commuting voting masses who elected the bastards are contented with this everyday hell. Their leaders wont do anything anyway even they complain everyday.
Poor middle class taxpayers forced to give big chunk of their hard earned income to a*hole government in exchange for worst commuting experience.
#CommutingMoreFunInThePhilippines
Excuse me Kimpoi, I just want to ask, are you a filipino? Well if you are, shame on you, it is not the Filipinos fault if the system is like this. They are just doing what they can to survive this place that you call a hell hole. I agree with some of your statements here but the only thing I don’t agree with is; you are saying that the people voted for the elected leaders? How sure are you that they voted for those officials, the voting system in the philippines can be easily manipulated. So don’t judge when you don’t even know what you are talking about and you are there probably abroad sitting pretty.
And who manipulated the elections? Foreigners? Hello, Garci? The fault of one is the fault of all! How can we progress if we’re so quick to blame others for the misfortune we and everyone else caused?
enough has been said & told about public transportation in this country…needless to say it’s the sheer lack of planning & insight (not to mention sense of compassion) to those who takes the roads often travelled…from administration to administration – the disconnect is just deafening that where taxes are imposed the most, inconvenience, pitiful situations & economic unjust are most prevalent. long prayers have drawn the line between what can be provided divine or human…the quality of our leaders in general leaves so much to be desired.
sir, if you observe the road has only a few cars. second hand cars can go as low as 30k and will save you lots of productive time for commute alone.
not counting the “risk” commuters take when riding an mrt or a bus, whererin we ride at our own risk from threaths which includes theft, snatch, holdups, or a lunatic attack.
“if you observe the road has only a few cars” sir, are you blind? Don’t you know the time that it takes to commute versus the time it takes to drive during rush hour are almost the same? -_-
This is precisely why I chose to start working from home. I suggest you explore your options, because it’s a really cost-effective option.
But isn’t it extremely sad that work options are limited and constrained just because of commute problems?
I live in the northern part of Metro Manila and work in BGC, Taguig. I wake up before 5am everyday and leave the house at 5:30 to make sure I get to the MRT before 6am. I usually reach the office at 7am. But my shift only starts at 9am. Hardcore early bird :-p Two hours of free time – I don’t want to say ‘wasted time’ because it is my choice to go to work early and avoid the stress from the chaos that is the EDSA rush hour.
In the evening, my colleagues and I walk 2 kilometers from the office to the tricycle terminal in Kalayaan Ave. (roughly 20 minutes). From there, we’d take the tryk to the Guadalupe Station and prepare ourselves for an intense physical and emotional warfare. Total of 30 minutes from the office to the MRT station alone. But that’s already heaps better than taking the BGC bus to Ayala, which takes around 1-1.5 hours of travel. On good days, I’d be home before 7:30pm.
From 5:30am to 7:30pm – I’m out of the house for 14 hours. That long.
I’ve been taking the MRT to work for about a year. In the first few months, I would always complain about this hellish situation. But as the days passed by, my mind and my body eventually got used to the everyday battle.
Mind over matter.
Look at the brighter side of things (hey, I get to eat breakfast now, which is the most important meal of the day!)
Yada yada.
And that is my problem. I do NOT want to get used to this shitty transportation system. But I feel like we’re all left with no choice. Sometimes I feel that this is a hopeless situation. Or that it would take decades before they fix this up.
Hay, one can only hope.
Sana pahalagahan ng mga namumuno ang oras/buhay natin.
Walang halaga sa presidente at mga tao niya ang buhay, oras natin.
ah the mrt…to get to work, i had to ride the lrt first, then switch to the mrt. I brought a book with me to make all those waiting times useful. now i work somewhere closer 🙂
I agree with everything related to commuting in MetroManila.
Not with Anne Lowry though. I miss commuting in my country. Even during rush hour it used to be a not-so-uncomfortable experience. I was able to sit everyday and read for at least 3 hours (1.5 hours in the morning and 1.5 in the evening). It was relaxing in the morning and helped me forget about job in the evening.
It’s not commuting then but the circumstances in which you commute.
Now, in the case of the MRT… it’s really a nightmare and solutions must be found. Cause it’s not even the experience inside the train but everything that happens before going into it. Public transport (including taxis and jeepneys) should be a great alternative to having a car. Train is so perfect, cheap, clean, fast, efficient… and comfortable, except in the Philippines. Fight for it. Fight for a better public transport! Fight for solutions that allow you to use different transports without having to pay in them all, like the Octopus Card in HK, the Oyster Card in London or Abono Transporte in Madrid.
And another thing I agree with: a happy commuter is a happy worker but above all, a happy person.
Wag na magtrabaho para wala ng dagdag na problema.
Kung gusto ng walang problema magpakamatay.
Problema ba yun?
Haha
Losers always have a library of excuses in their pockets.
pareho lang naman dito sa toronto. i get up at 6:20, to make it to the train station that’s behind my house by no later than 7:25 so that i can be downtown toronto by at least 8:00. i then move over to the subway and ride two stations then walk about 15 minutes to get to the office. then pauwi uli. tapos pag uwi, there’s laundry, dinner, getting my son ready for bed and everything else in between. but i must say, the government has everything to do with making sure the transportation system is growing and improving for the rest of the country.
stop complaining and do something to make it better. before you cast your ballot in the box, think 10 times about who you are putting in office. before you put a crook or a thief in power. =)
How about transfer some public or private business to suburban or to provinces. or some educational school just to ease this dreadful congestion in the metropolis . The government must establish plans for longer terms. If only the taxes coming from Juan dela Cruz ( I mean public money) will honestly spend for the improvement of the public infrastructures projects of this Country, I am certainly sure that we can ride along any problem such as this congested mrt. It’s only a suggestion