“I wanted to feel the pulse of humanity.”

That’s what I replied to a colleague when she asked why I’m taking the jeepney after a particularly tiring day at work.

Yeah, why not have a comfy ride, with cool temperature and soft music playing, and where you can recline your body and maybe doze off for a few minutes while on the way home?

But sometimes, I feel the need to take the usual public transportation despite the heat, the queue, the longer travel time. I sometimes need to walk after sitting in an office all day. But more than that, here are little stories that may make one understand why.

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It was December 2023. Two tots, a girl and a boy, were playing by the side of the road, both with small, grimy, animal stuffed toy. When I passed by on my way to the street where I could get a jeepney ride, the older one said “Ate, pwde magpatulong?” I stopped, looked at her and she brought up the young boy’s stuffed toy. “Pakitali po,” and proceeded to give to me a string, but more like a lean strip of a gold-colored metallic foil. I said, “Sige” and demonstrated how to do it. When I left, the two were gleefully, pulling the string of the stuffed toys on the pavement.

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This was from my socmed post dated 30 August 2016:

Conversation last night between a mom and her 5-6 yr old daughter inside the fx while passing in front of Trinoma:

Daughter: Ma, tignan mo o. Si Dory. (while pointing to the huge tarpaulin of Finding Dory)

Mom: Ah si Dory. Yan yung ulam natin kagabi. Di ba?

Daughter: Si Dory po?

Mom: Oo. Di ba cream dory ulam natin?

Daughter:

I tried so hard to stifle my laughter.

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This was from my socmed post dated 14 December 2023:

After so long, I took an 18-seater van to work this morning since my usual transpo was unavailable today. Traffic was bad (this is not new but extra felt these days).

I couldn’t help but notice how the van seems to be a microcosm of the society — most people are quiet and lost in their own digital world; someone’s making comments about the traffic every now and then; someone’s watching a movie episode loudly; someone’s sleeping. Two women were gossiping; I wasn’t paying attention but the “storyteller’s” voice was louder than necessary, conspiratorial in some parts and I heard the phrases “40 na yun; ang tanda na.” (Ok ka lang, Ate?) “Di alam ng lalaki na nagpaligate na sya,” etc.

The last person to enter the van had the loudest “Tsk! Ang tagal!” when the driver maneuvered the van to a gas station after just a kilometer from the terminal as if he was the one who waited the longest.

There was a noticeable protesting murmur when one passenger objected to taking the shorter route (since she was getting off in the opposite direction). That road added about 30mins. to our travel time. One man loudly commented “Bumaba na lang sya sa kanto!” but the driver paid no heed and continued driving calmly.

This “loud” man was beside me and as he was manspreading in a crowded van, I thought, for a few seconds, of stabbing his thigh with a pen. Don’t judge me. That was a fleeting thought.

Anyway, I hoped that everyone got to their destinations safely and had a productive day.

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Then, last week, I took a tricycle and a van to work. To get to the van terminal, I had to wait for a trike then ride for 10minutes. A couple got inside the trike. I was behind the driver, when an elderly woman wearing jeans caught up. She sat beside me very quickly and said gleefully “okay na.” I said “Pasok pa po kayo; baka malaglag kayo,” but she said “Ok lang ako, Ne.” We rode wordlessly, with only the sound of the engine breaking the silence. After a few minutes, the woman inside the vehicle said, “Dyan lang po ako sa ayusan ng electric fan; nasa kasama ko po ang bayad,” and then she got off. The lola beside me suddenly said to me, “Maganda dyan. Magaling ang nag-aayos. Dyan din kami nagpapa-ayos.” I asked if the shop also repairs other appliances and responded, “Ah ok po. Gamit na gamit kasi electric fan ngayon sa sobrang init. ” She said “Mas maganda kung pinapaikot para hindi masira agad.”

Then it was time to get off. We went our separate ways. I was thankful to have learned about the obscure repair shop. I went to the van, waited for all the seating slots to be filled with passengers, then the van sped way towards Pasay, where after 40minutes, I arrived at my workplace.

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From my socmed post dated 27 July 2015 (This part was only added on 28 April, as I recalled it only today and realized it’s related to the current topic):

Attending the UP Manila Toastmasters Club meeting last Friday evening overstimulated my mind that I noticed everything on my way home. To summarize:

There’s an old apple and orange vendor playing with his dirty white pet cat, with a blue torn plastic attached to a walis-tingting; a girl who was walking fast texting with two cellphones, one on each hand, 3 ragged, homeless people fast asleep on the sidewalk, on a cardboard, with faces covered by a piece of cloth unmindful of the passersby, a surly looking police officer, a sleepy security guard…

Inside the jeep, I took one glance at all the 15 passengers: Two thin teenage boys wearing shorts and sando, with a faraway look; a couple both wearing red shirts and maong jeans engaged in a serious conversation; two men in their 20’s chatting animatedly in a dialect I can’t identify; a serious big, fat man wearing a black shirt and a black cap, a guard who is going home after his duty, a thin man (in his early 30’s) wearing a red shirt, maong jeans, and mint green slippers who kept on fidgeting all throughout the trip, a hefty woman carrying two big packages of school supplies and her daughter carrying a big box of donuts, an old man with longish white hair wearing a yellow shirt, who was trying to keep himself awake, a woman with auburn hair, a muscled man with a burnt complexion…

Somebody told me I should not think too much but I couldn’t help it. I guess it’s ok as long as it’s not about a problem/worry. It’s just a mental exercise.

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These are just few stories among many. And I’m sure you’d agree that these are examples of “pulse of humanity” which a “sanitized” ride, although much comfortable, is bereft of.

This brings me to the issue of the need for a fast and efficient public transportation. While going home from work, I see winding queues of passengers. The situation looks more dreary when it’s raining. Lately, I observed that queus get longer when transport companies stage a strike due to the jeepney phaseout issue.

How do we resolve that? Could it be because some decision-makers have become so used to the comfort and convenience of their “sanitized” rides everyday, that they fail to see others’ plight? What is the best way to modernize the transportation system, while ensuring that the rights of workers are protected and that their livelihood is assured?