Commuters continue to do penance for MRT’s and LRT’s administrators inability to think outside of the box.
The first time MRT was pitched to the public, we were promised less traffic, faster travel time, and a cost-effective alternative to taking the bus. In fact, in one of their marketing campaigns, they said that traveling from Quezon City to Makati would only take around 12 minutes (these days, it takes at least 30 minutes).
What happened?
In a nutshell, Metro Rail Transit Corporation, which operates the Metrostar Express in partnership with the Department of Transportation and Communications, failed to adapt to the expanding demands of the commuters.
Not enough train carriages have been added to handle the exponential increase of train users. In fact, they’ve even taken away some trains because of maintenance issues.
A single Metrostar Express trip runs across a 13.8km track and makes 13 stops. This means each train has to load and unload passengers approximately every kilometer. According to MRTC’s estimates. a train is available to passengers every 3 to 5 minutes, that means a single trip takes around 65 minutes.
Fewer trains, too many stops, and inadequate maintenance. It’s no wonder MRT commuters look like they’re competing for a Guinness record for the longest human line.
Our government seems to think that procuring additional trains is the only solution to this mess, but we beg to differ.
While that may be the ideal solution, it’s time to get creative because there are other ways of increasing trains and passenger capacity.
OUR BRIGHT IDEA: MRT should have “express trains” that stops only at busy stations like Ortigas and Ayala Avenue during rush hours.
These express trains will only make two stops and have faster turnaround times to service other commuters. In between, there will still be regular trains that continue to service all other 13 stations, or every other 6 stations, wherever the demand is.
Japan has a similar system. Local trains stop at every station, rapid trains skip some stations and limited express trains only stop at major stations.
Adopting a similar scheme with our MRT would be beneficial because majority of commuters during rush hours ride either from North Avenue, Quezon Avenue or Cubao stations and usually alight in major stations like Ayala, Ortigas or Buendia stations.
We’re sure a time-motion study can be conducted that would make this plan seamless, and we hope someone does it. We’re tired of complaining, so we’re offering this solution.
Do you agree with our idea? Tell us below.
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