I always enjoy a bus ride whether it’s a short or long trip most especially if I sit by the window because my mind often wanders that I was in a hot desert, an isolated beach, a crowded forest, a cold mountain, or a playful park and cozy up with whimsical ideas that unfortunately pops up only during a bus ride. It’s also the time that I could probably finish the shuffled 268 songs of my old second-hand iPod or my 100+ songs from my phone or finish a chapter or two of a book.
A bus ride is always happiness for me, so when Cebu City provided yellow Ceres buses during the GCQ (general community quarantine) last month I was thrilled that I get to experience once again this joyride even amidst the terror and destitution of the city (super insensitive!). I actually brought my book-of-the-season and a fully-charged iPod because I was excited, yet it turned out worse than expected. When I arrived at the waiting shed, a crowd was waiting for a bus that was still coming. There was no social distancing and the queue was getting longer every minute. What’s even more confusing was that there were actually three columns representing the different routes but when I got there there was just this long winding queue. It took me like 10 minutes to realize that I should be asking where I should be standing so that I could get aboard the correct bus. Then, the thug-looking traffic enforcers came along doing their job but very late making sure the queue was followed and social distancing observed. I think I waited for almost 30 minutes to get a ride. It was actually draining. I was so sweaty and the movement was so slow and all you hear were people complaining. Finally, the bus arrived and I got to take a seat.
Inside the bus, the conductor was multi-tasking: he did the temperature check, he went from front to back to collect the fare, and he inspected if the capacity was full. On my seat, I thought I could read the book or listen to my music but the discomfort of waiting in line gave me so much distraction and sweat was profusely streaming down from my head and my shirt was drenched. A woman sat beside me and she tried to talk to me about how things were going outside and I smiled and answered all her questions and the bus started moving.
Going home was a bit easier and more organized after we discovered that Beep was available. Its route was even very favorable for me because I could really stop on my street. Although Beep was a bit expensive because it’s air-conditioned, it had stricter protocol and cleaner than the Ceres buses and the fare was just right.
After that day, I realized that I like the idea that buses run the city. I think the streets would be cleaner and less crowded. If the city would be systematic which, in my opinion, has a serious problem with being systematic e.g. waiting sheds not for vehicles to stop, no clear stop markers, traffic enforcers allowing thuggish dispatchers collect much from poor drivers, traffic enforcers being unfair and picky, and not encouraging queues for everything to be organized, and so many more, I say buses can be a good solution for our traffic and transport system to be improved. Although there are many jeepney drivers to be considered, the government could hire some of them to drive the buses and maybe the government could lower the price of the fare for the masses. If this would all happen, I do pray, I would say our city would look better, cleaner, more organized and maybe friendlier most especially to a commuter like me.
MATTers 