Learning to Commute...

It's quite a shame for me to learn how to commute at the age I'm in. I should have learned that skill years before... It's not the very first time I've commuted, however. When I was a child I'd oftentimes be with our house cook in commuting via jeepney to the market to buy ingredients for our dishes. There I've "learned" how to commute. Hop in, pay and disembark at your destination. Since then it's always been that way; I haven't commuted solo or at least be given the chance to pick the right jeep and to pay for the fare.

My first time commuting solo is via tricycle from a nearby station at home until our parish. That was a year ago. Again, quite a shame since I'm already "late" with it. My school's "parish involvement" project (thankfully) forced me into this. At first it's "inconvenience" for me but now I'm enjoying it; I've extended my help after the project (which is the objective of parish involvement).

I have had other commuting experiences from other countries like in Spain. I was part of World Youth Day held in Madrid last 2011 and most of our transport (I was with the Philippine Lasallian Family group) was via the Metro Madrid train, the EMT (blue city bus), and the Renfe train (going to Alcorcon). We were given a ticket that's valid for all modes of transportation. Commuting there is very much different here...

(I'll post a pic of the ticket if I can still find it)


My dad made me (thankfully) learn how to commute due to my increased out-of-the-house activities. Projects at classmates' house, gimmicks, school affairs and many more. Going to those places using our car is already too expensive (I live in Parañaque; usual destinations would be in San Juan/Pasig/etc.). It would have been cheaper if we stayed at our old house (in San Juan; explains my schooling in LSGH) although we don't regret moving to our current residence.


First route to learn: From my house to La Salle Green Hills
Target arrival time: 8:00 AM

From my house, you take a tricycle going to SM Bicutan. Then, you cross the other side to either ride the bus or the Philippine National Railways (PNR) train. If you ride a "B" bus then that's the only bus you'll have to ride 'till Ortigas (the plate indicates ORTIGAS ILALIM). If you ride the train, however, you can either take a "C" bus (that stops at all stations including Ortigas) or take the MRT. After that La Salle Green Hills is a walk away.

So I and our driver (who'll teach me) left the house at 7:00 AM. We rode the tricycle (P10) some five minutes after and by 7:20 AM (15 minutes travel time) we're in SM Bicutan. We crossed to the other side using the footbridge and decided on which mode of transpo are we going to use... Bus or train?

Try po natin yung PNR...

We checked and saw that the next train arrives at 8:00 AM.

Di tayo makakaabot sa La Salle kung mag-ttrain po tayo. Mag bus na lang tayo...

We then joined the crowd waiting for the bus. Most of the buses are Ordinary Fare buses. Airconditioned buses are quite rare in that route. Then I realized that all of us are doing everything just to ride a bus, regardless if you'll be cramped or it's ordinary. Ride the bus- you're good! Some thirty minutes passed (7:50). We tried to cram ourselves in but to no avail.

Di na tayo makakaabot nyan. Mag PNR na lang tayo. Dali! Parating ng yung susunod na tren.

We went up to the footbridge, and saw four buses. We still took the PNR to avoid the risk. So a ticket to the train costs P10... Quite cheaper than a bus!

There were a lot of people waiting as well. 8:00 am and the Korean-donated DMU arrived at the station. Upon opening of the doors the people crammed themselves in, regardless of the orders being said by the station guard to give way to disembarking passengers. I wanted to obey, but I had no choice. If I did then I may have to wait for a long time again. Thankfully, everyone in the station was able to board the train... And off we go! The train is cramped as usual, and the aircon isn't strong enough to keep us cool, but that's better for me already! I can get used to it... The train engineer always warned us of pickpockets. I heeded the warning.

Inside the cramped PNR DMU. I'm not complaining about it :)

My parents always discouraged me of riding the PNR, but that's another story. Riding it has been my childhood dream. (You can read about it here.)

Mas mabilis nga mag PNR! Ayan o, traffic sa SLEX!

Good choice, then. Riding the PNR... We saw the traffic at SLEX (which is not unusual) and realized that riding the bus would be more time consuming. We disembarked at Magallanes Station. Fun ride!

It's a long walk to the bus stations but that doesn't matter. The MRT station is closer. We considered riding the MRT but the lines are long so we rode the bus instead. We rode an airconditioned "C" bus going to Ortigas (P15) and as usual it is cramped. We're lucky as we're the last passengers able to cram ourselves in. At Ayala most of the passengers disembarked so we were able to sit in the chairs. After that everything's smooth sailing. I was able to arrive at LSGH at 9:00 AM. Total travel time: 2 hours.

Going home...

La Salle Green Hills to home
No target time

We left LSGH at about 12:20 in the afternoon. We boarded a J. BEA bus (with the plate SUCAT BICUTAN) at 12:40 PM. It's an ordinary fare bus. Our driver asked me if it's okay; I said yes (doesn't matter much to me anyway). The fare is P22 per head.

Onboard the J. BEA bus. The pilots of British Airways flight 5390 experienced harsher winds...

The travel time was quite fast.. I don't remember what time we arrived at Bicutan but we arrived at home at about 1:40 PM. Again, we rode the tricycle going back. Total travel time: 1 hour.

Lessons learned: In rush hour, the PNR is better... Travel is MUCH MUCH longer than a car, maybe double. Leave the house early :)

More of this exprience when I go solo sometime (which I may a few days from now).