It seems like our favorite apocalypse-themed movies just turned to reality as we have seen how horrible the first week of GCQ in Metro Manila was to a lot of commuters.

Amid the threat of a pandemic, many were so eager to report at work after the transition and push themselves to go back to the usual life they used to have before—it resulted in a manifestation of a major crisis in public transportation.

LONG LINES OF COMMUTERS

Light Rail Transit 1&2 (LRT), Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3), and Philippine National Railway (PNR) have resumed its operation after halting for weeks to serve Filipino commuters who are affected by the pandemic.

Police officers have undergone a simulation exercise inside the train to show off of the scenarios of what commuters must be expected once the transition pushed then as strict implementation of rules will be observed. But, the reality of this concept hit us all. Long lines were started to fill up the roads around the stations which means a tremendous threat of spreading the virus.

Some have taken 2-3 hours just to get on the LRT train.

A netizen shared photos on Facebook about the long lines for hours in Philippine National Railway that his wife had to endure just to report at work.  

Also, as seen and observed this week, there was a significant decrease in the number of passengers in Metro Manila’s mass railway transportation systems even as more workers flocked back to work. Physical distancing was strictly implemented according to the department of transportation.

HOURS OF WALK

On the news, we have heard a lot of stories about people who had no choice but to walk for hours just to get to their destinations and earn for a living—the sad reality among commuters.

Due to the simultaneous plan of reviving the economy and containing the virus, a lot of people are suffering twice.

A construction worker went viral after he walked all night just to get on time to work.

According to a report by GMA News, the worker started walking at 12 midnight due to a lack of transportation.

Many could relate and shared their own experiences and dismay on social media for the poor planning of the government with regards to public transportation.

LACK OF PROPER MASS TRANSPORTATION

The first days of general community quarantine (GCQ) in Metro Manila were a huge burden to all workers. The stress from work they bear and fear to get infected with the virus have doubled as public transportation is lacking to cater to them all.

Additional city bus routes are set to open in the coming days to transport more commuters as public transportation remains limited in Metro Manila under the general community quarantine (GCQ), the Department of Transportation (DOTr) announced.

However, the chief of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) blamed commuters for the chaos on the roads on Monday.

MMDA General Manager Jose Arturo Garcia said the people “seemed to have lost focus” that the new coronavirus that causes the severe respiratory disease COVID-19 was still around and could spread wider with the easing of restrictions on public transportation.

What went wrong? Was the lack of proper planning from the authorities the main reason for all these problems?

We have seen worse more than like this even before but these problems that happened during this week will get worst if there will be no solutions at all.