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By Kendrick Go, Agence France-Presse
Belching thick clouds of black exhaust smoke, a
dilapidated jeepney minibus brims with commuters jammed together
like sardines during rush hour in Manila.
Crawling on to the next stop, and another long
line of demoralized workers, it is but one vehicle that comprises
the congested morning traffic here.
Commuting in Manila, a sprawling metropolis of
more than 12 million people, has never been easy.
Most of the city’s public transport vehicles
are second-hand, poorly maintained and in many other countries,
would never be allowed on the road let alone to carry passengers.
The Philippine National Railway is old and dirty
and during peak hours it is not uncommon to see people sitting on
the roof or hanging off the sides of railway carriages and diesel
engines.
The only modern part of the city’s public
transport system is the overhead Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the
Metro Rail Transit (MRT). But they have reached maximum capacity and
trains are said to be dangerously overcrowded during the morning and
evening rush hour.
And on the back of high fuel prices, the
situation for commuters is about to get even more unpleasant. Those
“lucky” enough to own a car are leaving them at home and instead
joining the long lines of human traffic squeezing into the back of
jeepneys, buses or trains.
The minimum jeepney fare, the backbone of the
local public transport system, has gone up twice since May from
P7.50 to P8.50 (about $0.16 to $0.18) and volatile world oil prices
could see prices rise again.
Bus and taxi fares have also increased to keep
pace with high fuel costs. Diesel, which is used in most public
transport vehicles, has risen by 42 percent since the start of the
year and 64 percent since June last year.
In May, the government increased the minimum
daily wage in Manila by $0.33 to around $8.
But in a country where 40 percent of the
population live on less than $1 a day and with inflation hitting
double digits, transport costs have not only impacted heavily on the
lives of poor Filipinos. They have also dented the pockets of the
middle class.
Tet Defensor, a public relations consultant, is
from a two-car extended family in suburban Quezon City but with the
rising cost of petrol, she no longer drives to work.
“We used to have two drivers now we only have
one because we only use one car,” she told Agence France-Presse.
“My parents are too old to commute so they use
the car,” she added.
Roger Guzman, a college professor, now leaves
his car at home and joins the growing army of people using public
transport.
“We were a three-car family,” he said.
“Now we only use one.”
“Each car once cost around P2,500 a month in
gas,” he said.
“Now that’s how much it costs a week. So,
one car has gone from P2,500 to P10,000 a month. Multiply that by
three and you get P30,000 . . . we just can’t afford it
anymore.”
Popular Manila radio celebrity Joseph Javier
better known as “Mojo Jojo” said high petrol prices have also
affected his lifestyle.
“My life is now being limited to a five
kilometer radius if I drive,” he said, adding that he has bought a
motorcycle because “it’s cheaper, just P100 and you have a full
tank.”
With tickets costing P10 to P15, the Light Rail
Transit and Metro Rail Transit are fast becoming the preferred mode
of public transport for many commuters who don’t mind the long
lines and cramped conditions.
Quick and reliable, the overhead light rail can
carry passengers across Metro Manila without the congestion and
constant changes of buses and jeepneys on the road.
According to the Metro Rail Transit officials,
traffic on its line has increased almost 25 percent from 9.84
million passengers in April 2007 to 12.55 million in April this
year.
The story is similar for the two Light Rail
Transit lines that cut across the metropolis.
The surge in passenger numbers, however, is
causing concern among light rail officials.
“Strain on the MRT line is approaching a
critical level,” said its General Manager Roberto Lastimoso.
“We’re already going over the maximum
capacity,” he admitted, but declined to give figures.
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