Commuters wake up early, take long walks amid limited public transport

Some commuters have to wake up very early in the morning and endure a long walk to get to work as public transport is still limited in Metro Manila, according to reports on GMA News’ Unang Balita on Thursday.

Commuter Rodel Kho spent an hour walking to the MRT-North Avenue Station early in the morning to secure a ride through the bus augmentation service, according to a report by ames Agustin.

"Maaga na lang nagigising. Nag-a-adjust na lang. Kailangan kasi bawal namang ma-late sa amin e. Kaya kami na lang ang mag-a-adjust,” said Kho, who works in Makati City as a merchandiser.

Lisa Estrada, who lives in Commonwealth in Quezon City,  also got up early on Thursday morning to avoid getting late for her work as security guard at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City.

Due to the limited public transport under the general community quarantine (GCQ) in Metro Manila, Estrada has to walk some distance from Taft Station.

“Napakahirap po kung walang maghahatid, kung walang service kasi lakad lang talaga. Katulad po sa akin, galing po ako ng Batasan. Kung walang maghahatid, paano po ‘yun?” she said.

The flow of passengers boarding augmentation buses was smooth and no buildup of commuters was observed around 7 a.m.

From 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., at least 22 buses already arrived at the bus augmentation terminal near the station.  According to the MRT management, around 15 buses were operating with 7 minutes of headway.

Meanwhile, at LRT1 Monumento Station, commuter Jonel Burgos arrived at the bus augmentation terminal drenched in his own sweat, according to a report of Bam Alegre.

For Burgos, the situation was relatively better with the few available transport vehicles. He said he used to just walk and travel by his bicycle to Intramuros, where he works for a housekeeping service in a government office.

“Kahit papaano, pagdating mo doon, kaunti na lang nag lalakarin mo,” he said.

Meanwhile in Commonwealth, buses and L300 vans have been deployed by the city government to pick up commuters, according to a report of Mao Bermudez.

Taxi cabs also started operations along the thoroughfare. Some of the workers traveled to work using bicycles to avoid transportation woes. —LBG, GMA News