Long, snaking lines and over an hour of waiting is normal fare for daily MRT commuters. The lack of trains and the sheer volume of passengers during rush hour had brought about this situation.
Hopefully, things will change for the better. The MRT management is conducting a dry run of their MRT bus project on Wednesday, March 6, which will ferry passengers from Edsa – North Triangle station to their destinations.
According to ABS CBN News, these are chartered buses exclusively for MRT passengers only; specifically those who can no longer wait for their turn to board the train.
Queuing during rush hour can take as long as an hour and a half, while the actual train ride only takes about 30 minutes. The MRT management adds that the MRT buses will be using MRT cards as well, so passengers will only be charged PHP15 and not regular bus fare.
AL Vitangcol, MRT General Manager, says they are asking for a special permit from the MMDA so the MRT buses can use regular lanes and underpasses. This will speed up the travel time for MRT passengers, who chose to take the train to avoid EDSA traffic in the first place.
Vitangcol added that if the dry run is successful, they will be adding more MRT buses until such time that they can afford to purchase additional trains.
