Transportiis: A glimpse in the daily lives of commuters

Daily public commute with the present status of the public transport system translates to spending an average of four hours on the road, according to a report by Cedric Castillo on GMA News Special Report: Transportiis.

For UP student Kevin Cayetano, who commutes from Cavite to Quezon City, says "Sacrifice talaga kasi I wanted to learn, I wanted to study, so tinitiis ko na lang talaga yung byahe."

Beth Marquez, who works as a domestic helper, gets upset as she has to endure long queues and then transfer vehicles a couple of times as she travels daily from Bicutan to San Juan.

Sales officer Jesmar Talamisan, meanwhile, travels from Valenzuela to Ortigas and wakes up about 4:30 a.m. as part of his efforts to be at his work place on time.

According to the Move survey conducted in Metro Manila, a commuter spends an average of almost two hours during travel. In the same trip, commuters also transfer vehicles at least twice to reach their destination.

"The travel time to the workplace is longer for them. The rich can afford to buy [a] condominium and stay nearer their place of work. For the poor, there's no option. They could not even change work because they can't find an alternative," transportation expert Engineer Renato Santiago said.

The number of buses dropped down by 46% and jeepneys dropped by 36% from 2010 to 2018, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

However, despite this drop, the width and size of rails and roads cannot accommodate the volume of commuters.

"Sa ganitong size ng Manila, dapat expanded na. As early as late 1971, na-define na yung network consisting of five lines pero hanggang ngayon three lines pa lang yung na-construct," Dr. Primitivo Cal, a transporation expert, said.

"Then yung road network hindi din na-develop. In effect, na-increase yung demand pero hindi naman na-increase yung supply," he added.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said train lines are 77 kilometers in length. He added that the Department of Transportation hopes for rail system that is 1,900 kilometers long.

Based on MMDA data, only about 14.12% of cars in Metro Manila are for public use, while 85.88% are for private use.

"Alam mo hindi ka naman pwedeng dagdag ng dagdag ng sasakyan sa kalsada kung ang kalsada mo eh hindi naman sapat. Hindi ka naman bawas ng bawas ng sasakyan kasi sisigaw ang mga tao 'saan kami sasakay'," Tugade said. — Joahna Lei Casilao/BAP, GMA News