Commuting: EDSA Edition

Photo Credits to Richard A. Reyes

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. It’s half-past 4 in the morning. Time to wake up.

Honk. Honk. Wee-Woo. Wee-Woo. It’s half-past 5 in the morning. On my way to school.

Click. Vroom. Wooosh. It’s half-past 6. So close yet so far, but at least I still have 1 more hour.

“Excuse me po.”Click. Clack. 10 minutes until my first class. Must. Run. Faster.

Riiiiiiiing. Plop. Cue heavy sigh. I made it. Cue tears of frustration.

Now you may think that the situation above is a hyperbole of what commuting entails.
However, in most cases, we wish we were kidding. This is what a commuter taking the EDSA
route has to deal with on a daily basis. This is the reality. If you think that your commuter friends
are kidding when they say that they woke up in the early hours in the morning just to get to class
but still manage to arrive literally a few minutes or at times, seconds before their first class, then
you clearly have not tried commuting in the battlefield that is known as EDSA. EDSA, once a
great road, now, a drive-in theater filled with road rage, frustration, and accidents.
 To give a bit of background information, Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, also known as
EDSA, is the longest and most congested road in the metro, with a length of 23.8 kilometers.
Aside from being the longest highway in the NCR, EDSA also connects the three major districts:
the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), and a huge chunk
of Manila’s local government offices. Besides being known for its terrible traffic, it is also
remembered by the people for its historical significance.

Due to the numerous institutions and establishments in the area, as well as the fact that it
connects the 3 major districts, a massive number of people take this route every day. In some
shows such as TV Patrol and 24 Oras, they make mention of the word “rush hour” which
basically translates to the hours in a day wherein a lot of people either go to their respective
destinations or go back to their respective homes. In EDSA, there is no such thing as a rush hour,
mainly because it is always rush hour. To confirm, I have had firsthand experiences with this
within the last 2 months.

One reason as to why the people probably experience this, is due to the fact that there are
less cars available as compared to the number of commuters who take this route. There are at
least 20 schools and 17 Manila local government offices in EDSA alone. There is an estimated
number of at least around 50,000 students who take the EDSA route daily. That is just putting it
lightly. Besides those students, there at least 4 times as many working individuals who also take
these trains daily.

In an interview with Sabine Jeanjaquet, a fellow Atenean commuter, she said that
“[C]ommuting is hell on earth…” and continued with saying that [C]ommuting in EDSA is such
a pain” for her because she takes the transit to go to school every single day. In taking the MRT,
you have to wait for at least 10 minutes to line up outside the terminal, wait 3-5 minutes to get on
the platform, and wait for at least 7 minutes to actually get on a train, and that is just on a good
day.

In taking public utility vehicles (PUV), such as jeepneys, buses, and taxis, you have to
wait in the terminal for at least 10 minutes, and travel for 2-4 hours to get to a place 1-2 hours
away. You even get to finish at least 1 entire movie as you sit there, stuck in the EDSA traffic.
 With this situation in mind, just think about how this is so much of a hassle for
commuting students in secondary and tertiary level. For most students, their dismissal times are
at around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. With the stress they deal with in school due to projects, tests,
papers, and the like, added to the unnecessary stress they get from waiting in line and actually
travelling to get to where they have to be.

It is mentioned in one article that the most common diseases that come with the pains of
commuting are the common cold, lack of sleep, and muscle pain, as well as back pain. Some
people may argue that even though these are nuisances for commuters, individuals who are able
to drive on their own or travel via school buses and private cars also experience these things.
However, the severity of these poses a more terrible threat for commuters, especially student
commuters who are in that critical stage of their lives wherein growth is still taking place.

In a way, although everyone experiences these and obtains these diseases once in a while,
commuters have it worse. First of all, student commuters who travel via their school bus or are
fetched by their parents experience a sense of safety and security because of the fact that there
are people assigned to look after them. For the commuters’ case,