A Peace on Riding Public (Transportation)

Just to put things into perspective, I was lucky enough to have a car available ever since birth so riding public transportation is not something I am 'used to'. But ever since the MRT was built in the 90s and the north station is just a walk away, I've always found some peace and freedom whenever I took it. One of the reasons (at that time) was probably the convenience of it. It was less than a five minute walk from my house and I can easily get to any of the malls along the way.

That was the 90s, since then the traffic has gone absolutely bad and I've moved way down south in Calamba, Laguna. While the commute in terms of time may actually be a bit faster when comparing it to QC, the distance and the toll fees can take its toll on me, especially in terms of costs. It's a good thing that I'm trying to do a start-up and I do my work at home. So, I don't really have to travel to the city on a daily basis.

Given my situation here are some things I do to save on costs:
1. Drive at a steady 80kph to maximize the mileage of my car
2. Plan my trips to the city to make the most of it
3. Use the service road from Alabang - Bicutan (saves me P74 per trip) as long as it's not traffic

The point-to-point  bus from Alabang came as a Godsend. I can now just park my car in Alabang and take the bus! Compared to Makati parking, it's easier and relatively cheaper (in some areas it's free!) to park in Alabang. It's technically faster. But since I do need to follow a schedule this is relative. What I can't account for is the convenience of it.

Inside the point-to-point bus.

There is a certain peace and freedom when I don't have to bring the car to the city. There's no fear of getting stuck in traffic as the driver. No need to look for parking and pay for it. I can enjoy the view from the Skyway.

View from the bus. I'm glad I'm just a passenger.

The trip takes about 30 - 40 minutes one way. At it's worst it took me an hour and a half but I didn't have to stress myself driving. At best you'll have a window seat to enjoy your surroundings at worst you'll have a middle seat enjoying wifi. Not that bad at all.

You get to enjoy the 'view' - the graffiti says "Fuck people who worship money". I otherwise wouldn't have noticed this.

If I need to go to QC, the MRT is the next segment of my trip. The drop of point of the bus to the MRT isn't exactly close. It's close enough to walk for about 10 minutes to get the the MRT. With the current traffic situation the difference between taking a cab and walking may be minimal, except for the sweat you get when you walk. Since Greenbelt opens at 11am you can't go through the mall to get to the MRT. If the mall is open though, it's more comfortable than walking in Ayala.

The MRT will never be as comfortable as the P2P bus but if it's not the rush hour it's convenient enough to get you where you need to. It may be crowded, but not crowded enough to wait for another train to come by. The worst case is if the train breaks down or in my case recently get delayed for some reason. But a QC to Makati trip will take you about 15 minutes compared to at least a 40 minute trip (worse 1hr).

While you don't get a sense of peace when riding the train, you get this sense of fulfillment that you beat EDSA traffic! I wasn't one of the poor souls fighting for position against the busses getting all stressed out. Getting to your destination faster and with less stress is enough of a reward.

While I'm all praise with riding public, I would probably avoid riding the bus and MRT during rush hours. That's when you appreciate having a car. As long as it's not rush hour, going public provides you a lot of convenience and peace that you're avoiding traffic that shouldn't have been there in the first place.

That's me and my friend Jack when we tried out the P2P bus for the first time.