Online petition calls for 8 steps to ease MRT problems

MANILA, Philippines – “Remove the seats!” 

This is just one of the possible ways the government can ease the congestion inside overcrowded trains of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3, according to a new petition circulating online.

Nicole Calo, a commuter fed up with crowded trains, wrote an online petition on Change.org offering 8 ways to solve what she calls an “unproductive and a highly intolerable experience.”

Calo said the conditions inside the MRT-3 system were “inhumane,” particularly when compared to similar train systems in Beijing. “In the Beijing rush hour, though crowded and of higher volume there is still enough room inside the train for individual people to swing their arms or turn around. In Manila, there is negative space – literally, as the people are crushing into your body, skin is in contact, and there is barely enough space to breathe.” 

Quick fixes

The solutions Calo proposes are fairly simple and meant to address everyday problems encountered by train passengers: 

1. Fix the clocks. Some MRT clocks don’t work or tell the proper time. “Timeliness is an essential part of the transportation experience,” says Calo, who adds that placing new batteries won’t even cost the government much money. 

2. Put hand rails at the center of the train. Calo writes that crowding takes place near the train doors because passengers have nothing to hold on to.

3. Instruct guards to systematically direct alighting traffic. Embarking passengers should line up diagonally on either side of the train doors, leaving the immediate vicinity of the train doors free for disembarking passengers. This will help save time.

4. Except for the first train car for the elderly, pregnant and PWDs, take out the seats on the train cars. The space taken by the seats could easily accomodate more passengers, letting more people get on the train. This easily increases car capacity and reduces passenger waiting time.

5. Optimize space by removing the doors in the compartment room at the front of each train car. Every riding passenger counts, and this fix easily accommodates at least 50 additional passengers per train.

6. Utilize extra terminal space for extra ticket booths. Tables with attendants will easily serve the public by reducing lines at the existing ticket booths. This saves time and eases tempers from flaring.

7. Improve the baggage inspection system. So much time is wasted by guards opening and poking bags, and this is an ineffective and inefficient way of securing passengers. An x-ray baggage scanner for each station would help speed the process and be much more effective.   

8. Educate senior staff on train transportation science and traffic technology. This will help develop local capacity and local expertise, which leaves much to be desired. Calo writes, “Lack of transportation science expertise is the root of our problems. Please collaborate!”

Calo does not begrudge the inconveniences brought about by the upgrading, as she writes, “We understand that the goal is to modernize the MRT-3 altogether, but the change management is poor. The sequence of improvements should be reviewed, and the short-term consequences of the these installments should be predicted and better managed.”

Troubled trains

The government’s management of the MRT-3 system has come under intense public scrutiny in recent months. Commuters regularly complain of long waiting lines, passenger congestion, and generally poor maintenance. The government has admitted that the system has not been well maintained, with less than the optimal number of trains operational. But news trains are scheduled to arrive in the country in January 2016. Until then, commuters will need to endure the painful commute. – Rappler.com