And so, the story goes...
At 6 to 7 am on a Saturday, Aguinaldo Highway is just starting to fill-up with all types of vehicles. And its also the time when most of the PUBs (public utility buses) start coming out of their garages to start picking up commuters going to Manila. I had to take one of those buses. There are several of them lined up in front of Robinson's Dasmarinas. San Agustin, Jasper, Crow and several others. I had to pick one, so i boarded the San Agustin Bus nearest to where i was at.
..then the roller coaster ride begins...
The bus started going even before my other foot stepped on the bus' 'door-steps'. The driver and the bus conductor was telling me 'kapit lang boss, kapit'. (Good. How nice of them to think of your safety). With the other buses strolling beside each other, the literal 'roller-coaster' ride begins.
The road is wide enough to fit two buses side-by-side (four if its two way). But that brings the buses only several inches away from each other (say about a foot or less). Think how close race cars get to each other in NASCAR racing. Now imagine the buses doing something similar on a busy highway. Fun!
...now the 'fun' part...
A lot of commuters are starting to pile-up on the sides of the road to wait for their bus rides. And a lot of buses are coming and going on busy street intersections to pick up those commuters. That's the 'fun' part.
Since there are a lot of buses, picking up commuters is like a competition to the bus drivers. All of them want to get the commuters first. They'll do anything out of their powers to get to the commuters before the others does. Forget that the road is only wide enough for small vehicles, what's important is they get the advantage over the 'competition'. They'll cut the others off, they'll swerve both sides to block the trailing buses, they'll speed up just to catch-up with the 'leading' bus, all these while ignoring innocent pedestrians and private vehicles who are also part of the busy highway. In fact, the bus i'm in nearly wiped-out a Tamaraw-FX when it suddenly tried to swerve and change lanes in front of it. This got the FX drivers so mad, that when we had to stop for a stoplight, the driver (FX) got out of his ride, went straight towards the bus door, with his face all-red and angry. He was shouting and cursing at the bus driver. The bus driver on the other hand, just acted innocently, as if nothing happened (Bakit sir?! Anong problema??... Pasensya na... Di ko napansin...). The shouting has gotten the bus conductor 'mad', he came storming from the back of the bus going to the front asking the driver what the problem is, telling him to bring out their 'tubo'. The driver calmed him down, saying 'Wag na, bayaan mo na, maaga pa para mang-away'. O_o
And despite that encounter, they still continued with their ways. They bully they're way around other buses and vehicles. They fight for position like how basketball players fight for position against the opposing player. They speed through the narrow high-way like race cars racing through a long straight. They're like predators locking in on their targets and trying to beat the others to a single 'prey'. It's crazy.
.. i survived the ride ..
That was how it was for the whole 40-45 minutes of the ride, from Dasma to Bacoor. You can hear the driver and his side-kick laughing when they beat another bus to waiting commuters, or when they overtake another. They even compete with buses belonging to the same bus company they belong to.
I'm just wondering what these guys think while they plow the roads mindlessly everyday. I know they're just working hard to provide for their families, i know that since traffic is so bad nowadays, the only way to earn more is to get more "byahe's". But, they are doing this at the expense of safety, not only of the people inside the bus, but also of the people outside.
Good thing i am used to this kind of thing. I had been going through this kind of 'adventure' since i was in college. Luckily, nothing bad has happened to me yet while riding those buses. Anyone not used to going through that kind of 'driving' will likely get a heart attack if ever they get through one.
.. Why i wrote this ..
...is because, i will soon be going through that bus route everyday. I have to be ready for that kind of adventure again. And until i get my own ride, i have to endure that experience everyday.
If you go through that same thing everyday, then i wish you luck everyday.
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