{"id":634007,"date":"2014-08-30T08:13:17","date_gmt":"2014-08-30T00:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsinfo.inquirer.net\/?p=634007"},"modified":"2014-08-30T08:13:17","modified_gmt":"2014-08-30T00:13:17","slug":"grace-poe-rides-the-train-gets-taste-of-commuters-ordeal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinfo.inquirer.net\/634007\/grace-poe-rides-the-train-gets-taste-of-commuters-ordeal","title":{"rendered":"Grace Poe rides the train, gets taste of commuters\u2019 ordeal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Photo from Office of Sen. Grace Poe<\/p><\/div>\n

MANILA, Philippines\u2014In her first Metro Rail Transit (MRT) ride, Sen. Grace Poe on Friday morning got a taste of the ordeal that thousands of commuters go through every day.<\/p>\n\n

Poe joined the long queue at the North Avenue station, experienced machine malfunction and took an hour and a half to get to Taft Avenue for an otherwise 30-minute ride, no thanks to technical glitches.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve been neglectful when it comes to the maintenance of our trains,\u201d she said in a phone interview. \u201cIf there were more trains, there would be no problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The senator took the MRT to experience firsthand the commuters\u2019 plight ahead of Monday\u2019s hearing on the state of the country\u2019s public transport, which she will chair.<\/p>\n\n

With a female staff and her daughter\u2019s nanny in tow, Poe joined the long line at the North Avenue station around 8:20 a.m.<\/p>\n\n

Escalator bottleneck<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

It took her 40 minutes to reach the ticket booth but not after experiencing a bottleneck because the passengers were made to take a nonfunctioning escalator instead of the stairway, she said.<\/p>\n\n

After finally buying her card, she experienced firsthand a technical glitch: Her ticket got stuck at the turnstile.<\/p>\n\n

The MRT guard had to manually take the lid off to get her card, an incident that could further delay boarding if it happens every now and then, she said.<\/p>\n\n

Poe, who stepped into the coach reserved for women with her two companions, said the ride was going \u201cpleasant\u201d until the train stopped much longer than it should in one of the stations.<\/p>\n\n

Technical glitch<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The reason: There was a technical glitch, or a train malfunction at the Boni Serrano Avenue station.<\/p>\n\n

Because of the long stop, they reached the Taft Avenue station in an hour and 30 minutes, instead of the usual 30 minutes.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWe got there a little before 10:30 a.m. It was a long ride. In spite of that, people are so patient. The government is so lucky that the people\u2019s patience is so long and tested \u2026. For them, it\u2019s still their mode of transport,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n

In that station, she noticed that the escalator wasn\u2019t functioning. She was told that the elevators in other stations were also in disrepair, a bane for persons with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n

After the ride, the senator learned that MRT personnel advised commuters in the stations not to rush inside because she was riding in one of the coaches.<\/p>\n\n

Questions to ask<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Poe, acting chair of the subcommittee on public services, has invited Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya and Winston Ginez of the Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), among others, to Monday\u2019s hearing.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll ask: How many trains are they adding? Have you tested their time in motion?\u201d she said. \u201cIf this guy owns the MRT, is he just sitting and waiting for the dividend?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Some senators called for an inquiry into an MRT crash two weeks ago.<\/p>\n\n

An MRT train hurtled past the railway at its Taft Avenue station in Pasay City, leaving 38 passengers hurt. The defective train was being pushed by another train when the coupler between them broke, sending it crashing through the metal stopper and concrete barrier of the last station. The train broke down at the Magallanes station.<\/p>\n\n

RELATED STORIES<\/p>\n

What Grace Poe saw when she took the MRT<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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