Integrated Provincial Terminals and Manila Bus Ban

[nettai]

Para sa mga commuter nating mga sisses from Cavite/Batangas/Las Pinas/Paranaque going to EDSA or Manila, share to us your experiences dun sa newly-implemented SWIPT (Southwest Integrated Provincial Terminal) and what can MMDA Chairman Francisco Tolentino, or our fellow sisses from Cavite/Batangas/LP/Pque can do.

Same for our sisses na nag-ko-commute from QC/San Juan/LP/Pque/Cavite/Batangas going to Manila -- for Mayor Joseph Estrada and VM Isko Moreno.

Same din for our commuter sisses na manggagaling from the Northern and Southern provinces going to the Metro. Since nakita nyo na yung siste ng Southwest Terminal, what do you sisses feel, and what would you do to prepare once mabuo na yung NIPT at SIPT?

Ako kasi sobrang nahirapan. Hay, how easy it is for other people to say na "konting tiis lang", "disiplina lang ang kailangan dyan"... Kaso dahil kulang sa City PUVs at sa layo ng mga "points of next rides" struggle talaga mag-commute from there. Sana dagdagan na lang nila ng City PUVs, at luwagan nila yung entry/exit points ng terminal and we're already fine there. Nakakainis lang rin kasi what the news show is quite misleading, and the pictures over the net don't do justice on how hard it is to commute from there. T_T

Maganda talaga ang ideas na to but they were poorly executed. We're willing to comply naman eh, we have to exercise discipline din. Kaso it did more (and really, MORE) bad than good to me. Instead of spending my energy on work, naubos na ang energy ko sa pagcommute pa lang.

[honey-ecclaire]

off topic but do pls have time to read

http://dulzspeaks.blogspot.com/2013/08/anonymous-speaks-pork-barrel-scam.html

[nettai]

^ Yup nabasa ko na yan. Actually in a way it's not off topic. I hope na hanggang conspiracy theory lang talaga yan; they diverse their constituents' attention to the bombings and the bus terminal inconvenience para mawala yung attention from the pork barrel scam like what happened to the siege in Sabah that was forgotten due to the marriage issue of Kris Aquino and James Yap. LOLS. Diversion tactics talaga.

Anyway, back to the real topic. There had been an online petition, challenging all high officials to at least ride the public transpo para maramdaman nila ang talagang sitwasyon.

And Malacañang's answer? Hindi daw nila kailangang gawin yun para malaman ang sitwasyon ng tao. Haha, excuses, excuses.

[akthung]

Ako kasi sobrang nahirapan. Hay, how easy it is for other people to say na "konting tiis lang", "disiplina lang ang kailangan dyan"... Kaso dahil kulang sa City PUVs at sa layo ng mga "points of next rides" struggle talaga mag-commute from there. Sana dagdagan na lang nila ng City PUVs, at luwagan nila yung entry/exit points ng terminal and we're already fine there. Nakakainis lang rin kasi what the news show is quite misleading, and the pictures over the net don't do justice on how hard it is to commute from there. T_T

Maganda talaga ang ideas na to but they were poorly executed. We're willing to comply naman eh, we have to exercise discipline din. Kaso it did more (and really, MORE) bad than good to me. Instead of spending my energy on work, naubos na ang energy ko sa pagcommute pa lang.

actually masarap nga buhay ng Pinoy.

sa ibang bansa, you'd have to walk kilometers to the bus stop or train station. mainit man, or malamig. sa amin sa Australia, naglalakad kami in 40-43 degree heat. may mga bus stop na pole lang. wala man lang shade. pano pa kaya kung bumagyo. mahal ng taxi kahit 20minutes away ka. alang naman taxi ka to and fro work for the duration of the storm. kung by the hour ang bus. mahirap. kung tumirik sila, hintay ka nanaman ng isang oras. normal lang lumakad ng 2-3 kilometers.

when i stayed with my uncle in Las Vegas, 2km away yung bus stop. tapos para tawirin lang yung 15 minute (by car) street, ay 2 oras mahigit, sa dami ng stops at ikot. tinitiis ng tao yun.

sa China, we'd walk to train stations in -15C degrees. wala pa diyan wind chill factor. tapos kung makipagsiksikan ka sa train/bus. fight you're way in and out. sa sobrang sikip, joke ng friend kong babae, hindi mo na alam kung hinihipuan ka na. laway nga naaamoy mo. bus wise naman. not that easy to wait, standing sa shed na uber lamig. ginagawa namin, tumatalon talon kami para uminit ang katawan.

kwento pa ng kaibigan kong mga puti, sa bansa nila naghihintay sila sa temperatures more than -15. may kasamang malayong lakad. at -15c on a windy day, if you take your hand out of your gloves, sasakit yan in a few minutes. baka nga sa iba in 30 seconds sasakit na balat.

may mga places sa ibang bansa may hangganan lang sa oras ang bus and train. example 10:30pm. after 10:30. wala ka nang masasakyan. taxi lang. gawin natin to sa pinas. for sure maraming magrereklamo.

sa pinas, may pa pedicap pedicab pa. tricyle. jeep. nakakababa kung saan gusto. konting init lang. reklamo.  kami nga kahit buhos ang ulan, nilalakad namin na nakajacket lang.

marami pang pwede maging examples. pero minsan yung tiis na hinihingi mula sa pinoy, ka kapiranggot lamang. imho pwede namin ibigay. i'm not saying this situation should not be reviewed. it should by all means and find the most efficient way for people to travel. and review takes time.
like yung coding noon. B.Fernando reviewed it for 3 months and another few months before he made the 10am-3pm coding exemption.

[airish_2]

pero mahirap talaga ito sa mga maraming dala na galing probinsya for example na lang ang lola ko na manggagaling sa antique hindi lang naman iisa ang bag nya tapos yung pamasahe sa halip na makatipid nadagdagan talaga hussle talaga sya dapat nga maranasan ng mga nakaupo kung ano pakiramdam nun, maganda sa maganda pero ang daming pros and cons.

[akthung]

eh yung matatanda kaya sa ibang bansa? sa vancouver, ilang beses na ako nakakita ng matanda nagbubuhat. example: 5 gallon bottle sa grocery binubuhat. 4-5 na bote. mula shelf hanggang counter hanggang parking lot. mula kotse hanggang bahay.  this is IF you just buy water of the shelf. pano kung refill? ikaw pa mag rerefill at mag lalagay ng cap. swerte nga pinoy, mura na nga tubig, binubuhat at dinadala pa sa bahay/opisina. walang delivery fee.

sa australia ganun din. normal lang makakita ng maramin dala. mga naka grocery carts (trolley). when we first arrived in australia. ganun kami. tiis. wala pang car, sige lakad, rain or shine.  mag grocery then buhat buhat lahat. matagal pa bago dumating ang bus? sige lakad.  trolleys cost 200 bucks. we were forced to be practical. carry what you can only use or carry. move nearer to your work place. etc etc.

things like these are challenges. tough situations will force our brains. to come up with solutions to new challenges. open naman to suggestions daw sila.

hindi uunlad ang pinas kung lahat irereklamo at kailangan "ibalik sa dati". people should change - "ask what you can do for your country" ika na ni JFK.

[airish_2]

kahit naman ako i like the idea na mas luluwag ang edsa pag ganun nga ang ginawa, swerte ng may extrang cash, ok lang na maglakad at sumakay uli and suwerte rin ng may sasakyan hindi na nila proproblemahin makipaggitgitan sa malalaking bus, sana inuna nilang alisin ang mga kolorum at mga panget na bus,jeep at fx. Wala naman problema sa pagbabago yung mga tao magcocomply naman yan pabor lang naman ito sa may mga sasakyan at hindi nagcocommute.I suggest sa may mga sasakyan try muna nila for 1 week na magcommute tapos rush hour pa.

[nettai]

Like I said nga, willing kami mag-comply. I applaud their efforts to easen up the heavy traffic here in the Metro. Pero hindi talaga safe and conducive for walking sa lugar na yun. I do not know why the media isn't covering the theft incidents happening there.

Isa pa, sobrang bagal ng turnover ng mga sasakyan. You have to wait at least 30 minutes to 2 hours before you can get out of that area alone. Walking will be a worthless effort; either walang masakyan or kung meron man, trapped yung sasakyan sa loob ng terminal. Implementation was executed ineffectively.

No problem for me to wake up earlier. But did you know that a lot of the commuters from Cavite have to wake up as early as 3 or 4am to get to their offices or schools at 7 or 8am? Isa pa, not all of them can afford (financially or for some other reasons) to have a car, may kakilala na pwede i-carpool or rent an apartment nearby.

Effective sya sa ibang bansa kasi mabilis ang turnover ng sasakyan and you won't have to worry about your own safety. I was willing to walk in long lengths in HK and Singapore dahil may mapapala ang paglakad ko and I know I'm safe eh, but in there? Kahit may pulis na nga dun wala pa ring nangyayari eh. T____T

Isa pa, lumala rin ang traffic congestion sa area na yun. Oo nga, may change, but it was NOT in any way good.

What the media (social media or TV) has shown NEVER did justice on how hell it is to travel from there. And complaints and suggestions (including my suggestion na luwagan man lang yung entrance and exit for buses) kept falling on deaf ears. May changes nga silang gagawin, pero Senior Citizen's lounge and children's playground? What would it do para gumaan ang traffic dun at ma-ease yung hellish experience ng mga commuter dun pag rush hours aside from killing time?

[akthung]

o sige. we'll see na lang where pinas will be in 5 years. total, lagi naman tama ang pananaw ng nakakarami diyan. 

[nettai]

Haha, I'm not against the terminal ah. Sorry for the misunderstanding. May room for improvement naman ang sistema eh.

Yun nga lang, it could've done better and napagplanuhan sana sya nang mas mabuti, for one they could have built railways first (whatever happened to the LRT extension?), deployed more shuttle buses or made police presence more felt. Andami tuloy ng naapektuhan.

[junepets]

i do hope sa umpisa lang yan..
sana maayos nila.. at hindi ningas kugon..

strict implementation naman ang kailangan sa bayan natin eh....
ang daming batas di naman naiimplement...

[akthung]

eto magandang message din.

kailangan kasi matutong makinig ang pinoy. hindi yung lahat may karapatan.

WOTL BUS LANG PALA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IXgU7Tz5wE

at 1:58 the host says (pertaining to our well developed neighboring countries),  "...ang mga tao marunong mag lakad."

[nettai]

I watched that video already, and isa na lang ang masasabi ko:

"Failing to plan and failing to analyze is planning to fail."

And I agree, sana di sila ningas-kugon.

[nettai]

Nga pala, I'd like to add some things. You guys may think na di sya related but you might want to analyze.

In Baguio way back, people are also willing to walk in lengths. Compared to Manila, mas steep ang mga kalye dun at kadalasan madulas pa, kasi madalas ang ulan dun. No choice naman kasi sila dun, either they walk or ride a cab. Wala namang nagrereklamo dun. Kahit ako, I did not even mind to take a walk there kahit malalim na ang gabi.

Same for the other countries. SG has a higher humidity than here in Manila pero okay lang sa akin ang lumakad dun. Even a foreigner I know would not be willing to walk in our streets, sa bansa nya malayo rin naman ang nilalakad nya araw-araw. My Japanese manager's experience with walking from BGC to McKinley during a rush hour was so bad that he said he was willing to wait in long queues to ride a cab or jeepney (we had to teach him Filipino words like "ma, para po!") instead. He did not get lost, by the way. This also made me wonder kasi madalas naman may fun run dun and the Japanese are known to have great lengths of discipline.

I rest my case. I just hope na sa simula lang lahat ng yan.

[junepets]

I don't mind walking..
mas gusto ko nga yun kasi exercise.

kaso sa dami ng masamang loob sa manila...
nakakatakot maglakad... walang pinipiling oras...

papagalitan pa ko ni hubby pag nalaman nya naglakad lang ako..

before.. i was working at MSE (ayala)..

I walk from there to our home at Mandaluyong.. ang sarap.
kaso yun nga lang... grabe dasal ko...

and with the pollution sa EDSA...
pwede ko rin sana lakarin from my office now (Ortigas) pauwi samin..
kaso.. dami akong nababalitaan nahold-up sa Shaw Blvd (2 stories first hand info)..
pati na rin sa Boni..

[angeleigh]

Hay kawawa ang kapatid ko dyan lalo ngayon panggabi siya, but sabi ko nga tiis tiis lang dahil sa simula lang yan mahirap.
Sana lang, magstation sila ng maraming police sa area. Kasi sobrang daming magnanakaw dyan.

[nettai]

It's been a month since this has been implemented, so I'm going to update what's been happening to the Southwest Terminal for the sake of our commuter sisses riding from SLEX and NLEX who will experience the same soon enough. Note that I'm not from Cavite (I'm from Las Pinas BTW) but I've been using this terminal as well, so to our commuter sisses from Cavite correct me if I'm wrong ah.

Take note that I am NOT against the terminal. In fact I support this system, basta umayos lang ang traffic flow in Metro Manila and maging convenient din ito at the same time para sa mga commuters. Yun lang.


Improvements.

These are the improvements done so far:
- Installation of exhaust fans
- Some few policemen
- Drivers/conductors were stamped instead of being issued out some tickets, and fingerprint scanning once a day
- Walking shades
- Staging area for waiting buses
- Added one exit for... Exiting Cavite buses.
- Waiting lounge and comfort rooms

And their future plans:
- Taxi bay (There is one taxi bay across the street serving mostly those who will go to the airports; ALL of the taxis stationed there ask for a FIXED rate which is most often double or triple the metered rate)
- Drinking fountains
- Free movies (Wow.)
- "Terminal 2" (or terminal expansion)... I wonder kung saan to.
- Separate dispatching system for ordinary and airconditioned buses
- "Geometric improvements" for easy maneuvering of buses



What went wrong?
(aka: Bat andami pa ring nagrereklamo?)

This has been what I've observed so far:
- Even with the efforts of MMDA to make faster vehicle turnaround, this was not enough. People tend to crowd on the other side of the street to take their chances on riding buses from MIA Road or Las Pinas to make their travel times faster.
- Due to the influx of Cavite and Batangas-based passengers, EDSA and Manila-bound PUVs are not enough causing crowd buildup inside the terminal, and Cavite buses are stuck in the terminal (since only one at a time can get out of the terminal) during rush hour mornings. This is not a problem with EDSA buses since they can get out of the terminal without filling up the seats.
- On weekends and holidays, the staging area cannot accommodate the Cavite buses. They have to line up along Macapagal Boulevard, waiting for hours before their turn.
- Thievery still present in and out of the terminal.
- Some people have to walk to Baclaran should they choose to ride AUVs or the MRT/LRT. This also causes the crowd buildup in MRT or LRT, as well as in Baclaran. No proper sidewalk in one side of Roxas Boulevard.
- Since the EDSA buses are already full with Cavite/Batangas passengers, EDSA bus passengers from Las Pinas and Paranaque are having a hard time.

What has not been done yet:
- Minimum fare reduction. This will be hard on MMDA's part since the bus drivers and operators have been earning less. A lot of commuters from Cavite are minimum-wage earners and students; 2 Php will not be enough for a fare reduction for them.
- LRT extension. As of writing nasa bidding process pa rin sila. (Fact: There had been a bidding way before; nag-backout ang winning bidder for unknown reasons. I wonder why.)


Observation in EDSA: Heavy traffic is still observed on rush hours. Many EDSA buses and jeepneys are still loading and unloading in the middle of the avenue, jaywalkers still everywhere, private vehicles are filling up the avenue, and vehicles still rush over, cutting lanes, so on and so forth. The only ones happy here are the EDSA bus operators since lumaki ang kita nila.



I've also tried traveling to QC via Manila and back to Las Pinas; commuting in Manila had become smoother and a lot better. Kudos to Mayor Erap and VM Isko Moreno for that.

Difference between the Southwest terminal and Manila bus ban is quite significant -- There are enough jeepneys to accommodate passengers along Mabini/MH del Pilar and PUVs are only allowed to load and unload passengers in stops.



If the government really wants to decongest the traffic situation in Metro Manila, they should also think of ways to decongest these cities without sacrificing the jobs of the working masses. They're still allowing businesses to boom in the Metro -- so the populace flocks the Metro to earn a living. Whatever efforts MMDA will do -- even if they make stricter color coding schemes, enforce stricter policies whatsoever -- people will still flock the Metro.

[germaine]

ang tanong, nakabawas ba sa traffic sa edsa ang terminal na yun?  Of course not kasi wala naman sa mga bus na andon ang dumadaan sa Edsa, byaheng Lawton kaya lahat yun.  Yung sole bus from Cavite na dumadaan sa Edsa (Jasper Jean) ay sa Edsa pa din dumadaan. 

[nettai]

http://www.rappler.com/nation/67334-south-station-opens-alabang-august-28

So the Southwest station is still in its "hellish" state at ipapatupad na nila ang South Station. Samahan pa ng problema sa MRT at PNR. Good luck na lang sa mga sisses natin from the south. :|