Day 3: We still have no order

It's day 3. Maybe too early to judge for improvements, but then this is what I saw when I went to the terminal to get a ride home:

Confusing; People were rushing around because the whole terminal is a labyrinth of humans and buses.

We were told to wait in this line. This is bullshit. No buses parked here. We were standing here for almost 2 hours.

A huge wave of people; I never expected it to be this large.

The terminal is jampacked; EVERYONE IS SERIOUSLY CONFUSED. People switching lines here and there. What a warzone.

Can't emphasize JAM-PACKED enough.

I took a video after taking this picture; People were fighting because so many were cutting queues. Discipline was lost.

Well. That kind of sums up the Terminal's Day 3. I do not honestly know whether there has been improvements as this is my own first time to get a ride in this terminal. Day 3 proved to me how much broken the system was - People cutting queues, MMDA Marshals as confused as the passengers themselves, buses clogging up Macapagal Blvd. and the entrance to the terminal, a pickpocket was caught and the lines not moving because people flock an incoming bus such that those who were waiting in line can't even ride. The Marshals couldn't (or wouldn't?) do anything about it.

What pissed me off the most was that the MMDA Marshals told us to wait at the Bay 1 (for Bacoor and Imus Passengers), then telling us that those going to Bacoor and Imus weren't supposed to wait there since there are many buses that ply through Talaba, SM Bacoor and Imus. So what then is the purpose of this signboard:

The MMDA itself did not even follow what it said. What a waste of taxpayers' money.

Day 3. More improvement needed. 

Just my 2 cents!

/no1! 

To fix a clog

The MMDA has recently opened a new Interim Terminal at the old Uniwide Coastal Mall. It aims to decongest the traffic jam of EDSA and Roxas Boulevard. Good plans, actually. However, there were overlooked problems.

 

Rain + the new scheme = EPIC TRAFFIC at Coastal Road.

For one, many commuters were caught unaware with the new scheme. I, for example, had to figure out (and I still am doing so at the moment) a new way to get home and get to PLM/Manila on time. It seems that even the registered UV Express vans were affected and are being supposedly "captured" by enforcers. My usual 50php, 1 ride commute to Manila may now be increased, with several rides before getting to my destination. Not very efficient IMO.

 

Understandable that the aim is to ease traffic flow; however, commuters coming from Cavite, Laguna and other south side provinces are now probably wondering how to get to Manila, since, Cavitenos for example, provincial buses are now limited to the Interim Terminal. 

 

Another problem is how the jeepneys made Coastal Road-Roxas Blvd. look like a free-for-all passenger terminal. It caused heavy traffic at the end of the Coastal-Northbound Road. The buses were also clogging up at the D. Macapagal Blvd-MIA Rd. It caused much frustration to those coming from the south side, with many commuters getting delayed with appointments and such. 

 

Also, the issue of the transport fares is dragged here because, in truth, commuters have to readjust not only their commuting budget but also their physical selves to adapt to this new scheme. 

 

To be fair, I can see the honest intentions of the MMDA Chair Tolentino. However, it seems, as my sis Myka said, that the plan was kind of rushed head-on without appropriate planning to address possible problems and to minimize these. We are all hoping, however, that the scheme would soon be reorganized and that soon enough, the flow of traffic and commuting problems such as transport fees would be smoother and easier.

 

Still, though I really, really am pissed off, kudos to MMDA for trying. More planning and brainstorming, though! 

 

Just my 2 cents!

/no1!