How to survive your Manila commute
- willcharm
- May 9, 2015
- 3 min read

Manila traffic is legendary. The commute is equally (in)famous. Whether you're shaking your fists in the air after yet another failed negotiation with a cab driver, in line to take the godawful train, comtemplating getting on a bus that never stays on the bus line, a van that can squeeze in an entire clan, a jeepney that costs next to nothing, or a tricycle or pedicab that costs as much as the vans or more, there are tips that you must learn to take it easy as you get you from point A to point B.
Use small change. Public transportation in this city is cheap. Really cheap. Jeepneys, my death wish of choice, is P8.00 per ride. It helps to have your fare ready when you get on. Sometimes it gets so full and it can be quite tough to rummage through your bag for loose change. Plus, you lessen the chances of inviting trouble. Which brings me to lesson numero dos.
Hold on to your belongings. Clutch your bag. Close your legs. Don't show any cleavage. Stop playing with your phone, unless it's a Nokia 3210, in which case you can leave it on the seat beside you and you can be rest assured that someone will run after you to give it back to you. Turn your engagement ring around so only the band shows and not the rock. Be aware of your surroundings. Keep calm but stay alert.
Do not fall asleep. Because you can't, unless it's 4:30 AM and traffic is as light as a feather. And because you shouldn't, not because your life is in danger but because seeing life from public transportation is as enlightening as sitting under a tree and focusing on your breathing. You get to see how people are really just, you know, people.
A woman got on the jeepney one time and asked the driver to drop her off at this office, she pointed on a sheet of paper. The driver asked what the address was. The woman said she didn't know, but she was told to take this jeepney. Before long, everybody was offering suggestions: maybe it's the one on the corner of so and so, or no, it's way past the stoplight and then you cross the street and walk right.... And the woman, sans knowledge from Google Maps said a heartfelt thank-you.
Three kids got on another time, a tough-looking girl of about 14, a young boy who was trying to be macho, and a little gay boy who was more feminine than the girl. They were hanging on the door of the jeepney -- and I mean this literally, because just hanging means one doesn't have to pay the fare. It's not the safest of practices, but speeds are slow so in that sense, it's okay. They were just three kids being kids. I saw them a few days later selling peanuts on the street. I don't know who takes care of them, but I am comforted by the thought that they take care of each other.
Fall asleep and you'll miss these little snippets. People are people. Taking public transportation, no matter how inconvenient and dusty and hot allows one to see these things. You may have a choice: take a cab or drive, or be driven by your personal driver. A lot of others don't. Honor that difference.
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