It wasn't enough that nine (possibly more) people were injured last August when the train went off the rail and crashed into a street barrier. I was in Manila at the time -- and in fact, I took the MRT earlier that same day -- but I didn't witness the accident. But I think this Tweet from @yumolecule sums up how we all felt:
SHIT SAW IT LIVE SCARY AS FUCK PEOPLE WERE FALLING OUT OF THE MRT pic.twitter.com/FGKfzE7AEN
— Kim Yumol (@yumolecule) August 13, 2014
One might think that after an incident like that, you'd take extra care to make sure that your passengers are safe on your trains. One might think.At this point, their discomfort is almost a given. As of April 2012, about a half-million people ride the train every day. Rush hour is particularly crowded, with passengers packed into the cars like sardines. (This is not an exaggeration. Ask any commuter who heads home after 4:00pm.) Other hours are slightly more comfortable, especially since the cars are air-conditioned. Still, each train can only seat so many passengers (80, according to their official website), which leaves many of them standing for the duration of their ride.
So one might think that if you can't immediately make the trains more comfortable for their hordes of passengers, you would at least make them safe. For example, you would (pardon my language) close the fucking doors before taking off.
My main question is this: Would you really rather risk your patrons' safety than stop operations for a few hours to fix this problem?
Here are some secondary questions: Did you see no alternate way for these people to get home? Had all the buses, jeepneys, taxis and vans on EDSA evaporated that night? And most importantly, did it not occur to you that people could fall off of that train and die?
Although I doubt you'll respond to this, let me get ahead of you on something: if you say it's okay that this happened because no one actually did get hurt, you're an asshole. The mere act of taking this risk was so irresponsible, and you shouldn't have to wait for someone to get hurt before you take action. And if you say this was an isolated incident, well, you're lying. Citizen journalism has shown that it has happened on more than one trip.
Just because the President doesn't (and can't be bothered to) take the MRT doesn't mean it's acceptable for it to be falling apart.
The MRT is necessary to so many citizens of Manila. Please don't let it become a necessary evil.
