Fear of a moving bus
I do not take the bus. Buses bring out my natural paranoia. I’m worried that the bus will get mugged. Also, I always fall asleep on the bus and I might miss my stop. Most of all I fear that the perceived lack of discipline among Metro Manila motorists is not so much unruliness and a lack of consideration for others as a basic ignorance of traffic rules. The number one traffic violators are bus drivers; traffic violations lead to accidents.
My bus-related anxiety may seem irrational, but in the last few weeks it’s been entirely justified. There used to be a bus service inside the UP Diliman campus, but the bus company’s permit was revoked because the speeding DM buses had figured in several accidents. We took to calling them Death Machines.
That’s what buses have been lately: Death Machines. If they’re not falling into ravines, killing dozens of passengers, they’re crashing into cars, killing beauty queens, or getting involved in bloody hostage dramas (which is not their fault but there it is), or as one irate texter to an AM radio show pointed out, causing Miss Philippines to lose the Miss Universe pageant. (Hindi tuloy makapag-isip si Venus dahil sa lintik na hostage dramang yan! She couldn’t think straight because of that bloody hostage drama!)
Taxis aren’t much safer, either. Do you get the feeling that a lot of today’s cabbies arrived in Manila yesterday and learned to drive a car this morning? Today I hailed a cab along Ortigas Avenue and told the driver to take me to Rockwell. He said, Where is that? I gave him directions, and that’s when I noticed the driver. He looked like the novelty singer Vincent Daffalong circa 1988 with a mullet, if Vincent Daffalong had been buried for a week and then exhumed.
Where is Edsa? he asked. If a cabbie asks you where Edsa is, you should immediately get out. Even if you have the patience to guide the taxi, the driver’s lack of familiarity with our congested streets increases the probability of accidents. I said, Turn right at Julia Vargas, then go to Shaw. At Shaw I kept saying Turn right! Turn right! but he waited until the light had changed and then turned right, and then the cops stopped us and the driver had no idea what he’d done wrong.
Now cops—there’s another current cause of anxiety. Between the cops accused of torturing suspects and the cops who force-feed meth to traffic violators and the cops who take tour buses hostage, we don’t want to go near any cops at the moment. This traffic cop seemed nice, he was doing his job and declining the bribe openly offered by the cabbie. As in, Magkano ba? How much? It turns out the cabbie didn’t have his license because he’d already been stopped for another traffic violation this week. That’s when I decided to get out of the cab, and when I paid the fare the cabbie said, You’re leaving? Why?
Panoramic photos by banahawtext.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
August 26th, 2010 at 19:10
hilarious but true.. you didn’t even mention jeepneys..
August 27th, 2010 at 03:35
Have you ever taken an FX? I think it’s scarier than riding buses.
Love the shot of Juan Luna street, by the way.
August 27th, 2010 at 09:27
There are no nice cops. That cop was just lying low, in light of the heat they’re taking now.
August 27th, 2010 at 19:51
If you’re a guy,I’d advise you to get a motorcycle. This was a very recent discovery for me,having been driving cars/SUVs and/or taking public transportation (occasionally) since I was in college–the driving and commuting environment here has since turned hopeless,expensive and dangerous. I once enjoyed the MRT/LRT but the congestion has been steadily growing. So I decided to get two of those sporty Japanese motorcycles and It’s been great for my mobility. Coding?what coding? Traffic bad? You’d laugh at all those four wheeled vehicles stuck in traffic as you zip by–Sure many motorcyclists get killed but these are the really stupid drivers or newbies, or drunks; they are totally clueless how to assert their rights as a motorcyclist. I bet they’d even manage to get themselves killed while driving an Abrams tank. It’s been two years and so far,not an accident for this motorcyclist,thank you very much. Just look out for the guy wrapped up in protective gears and reflector vest–that’s me.
August 28th, 2010 at 10:19
For me who is used to riding buses, I would rather ride these death machines than taxis. At least they know where they’re going and you wouldn’t have to constantly worry about how much you’d have to pay them at the end of your ride. I’ve been riding buses since my college days (don’t ask how many years it has been), and my worst experience in riding them was when one broke down in NLEX. Other than the occasional “kaskaserong” driver, wailing kids and passengers who smelled like they worked with manure all day, I have no qualms with riding buses. Then again, these are Provincial buses I’m talking about. Inter-metro buses… now that’s another story.
August 28th, 2010 at 14:29
Taking the bus or the taxi or an FX are all the same – there’s always the risk of being mugged.
I witnessed and almost became a victim of a hold up in a bus and an FX, and it was only my natural “defensive” mechanism that saved me.
In a bus, holdup men or “mandurukot” usually operate in a group, usually three, and position themselves at the front, mid and back sections. They would crowd the front, near the entrance.
In an FX, the same thing – one takes the seat near driver, one in the middle row and a third at the back section.
If there’s a guy who would innocently and smilingly ask you to move to the seat near the window, so he could take the aisle seat, don’t give up your seat – let him take the window.
Or two would operate this way: One would sit beside you, taking the aisle seat. Then his companion would stand beside him.
The thieves know whom to target. Those who look like “balibayans,” with rolling luggage, or gold watch, and those who are taking naps.
These bad guys look like cops, in white T-shirt, crew cut, and would look friendly and even chatty.
If you sense hold up, get off the bus, FX or taxi ASAP. Don’t think about the money you paid already.