[sustran] Manila MRT

[Heckler]

To those of who interested in what's been happening to the EDSA MRT since
its opening last Dec. 15, here's the scoop as far as I can tell.

The main thing is no one's riding the train which is, of course, too bad.
Personally, I think it shows what corporate greed can do despite this
supposed age of "corporate social responsibility." Well. the market
responded and rejected the fares set for the MRT. I think commuters
generally appreciate the convenience (comfort, time savings, throw in
everything you can think of) the MRT offers since the trains were supposedly
packed on the first day of operations -- when a ride was free. After that,
only a handful have been using the trains -- 10% of the projected daily
ridership of 300,000 (to a maximum of 500,000).  Someone calculated that it
would cost Php100 for someone living in Quezon City (one end of the tracks)
to commute to Makati (the opposite end) because when you get off the
station, you still have to find transport to get to your final destination.
That's a substantial chunk out of the wages of us folks who don't have slush
funds.

The government, specifically the Dept. of Transportation and Communication
(DOTC), operator of the MRT, believes that it's the half-finished condition
of the stations that's discouraging ridership.  I've been on the train twice
and I can vouch for that. The stations are about three storeys high which is
the height of the stairs one has to climb to get to the platform.  (In some
stations, one has to climb up this flight, walk down another flight and then
walk up again a second set of stairs to get to the platform.) I say people
taking breathers mid-way as they tried climbing up to the platform. The
government has had to get the builder to build escalators. The built-in
elevators for the disabled and elderly are supposed to be small and narrow
and I haven't seen anyone using them. It's probably because the disabled and
elderly can't even get to the stations because access to them isn't easy
even for us temporarily abled types. OK, so the DOTC says when the stations
are all finished, they expect ridership to increase to projected levels. But
if that doesn't happen (which by all indications won't), only then will they
reconsider the fare levels. I don't think the bureaucrats even believe it
themselves because they are already trying to get the MRT builders to take
less than the guaranteed $1 million a year or so that they've been promised
as lease payment.

So, trying to determine a fare that will attract ridership (i.e, a fair
price for the comsumer), not just to line the pockets of the
owner/operator/builder and their banks, is important after all. I wonder
what's the story with the Bangkok Sky Train?

Ramon Fernan III