LRT Moments

By Jeanbeltran // light rail transit, LRT, manila transportation // No Comments

Trains or even railways - I haven't seen these in person nor from a distance, only from movies and tv shows like the Harry Potter and the like. Didn't really matter to me if I could get a ride though but it wouldn't hurt if I can at some point and guess what? When we went to Manila last September, James and I with my older brother and his wife took the LRT ride to Baclaran from Muñoz. I heard from a friend who came to Manila last summer that there's violence while people go into the vehicle. Ungentle men would tend to overtake the weak and the ladies just to be able to have their own seats. I couldn't imagine the scene though, I don't want to experience something like that but I have to take the ride for me to know.

Light Rail Transit is one of the cheapest rapid transits in Asia and so in my mind, I won't leave Manila unless I got to ride on it even just for one time only. And so during our last day, we went to Baclaran via LRT Muños. I never imagined it would take long for a train like this to reach our destination, but I enjoyed the scenery towards our destination, we passed by De La Salle where student passengers hopped down. My first impression never occurred, not even a shadow of it. The passengers I rode along were very courteous and silent. I only heard Bisaya while on the way, it was funny because James and I would tend to whisper when we talk so people wouldn't think that we are Bisaya but there in a distant, two Bisaya women of their thirties were speaking in Bisaya aloud. No you won't feel discriminated, the passengers never mind it.

Card - the back part shows the stations, front part? never ming. :)

James in a hurry, tickets are being fed on this machines

I learned there are two types of tickets, one for single journey tickets and another for stored value tickets. Passengers using single journey tickets are charged 12, 15, or 20 depending on the number of stations traveled. We paid Php 15 each for our one way ticket from Muños to Baclaran. This ticket is being fed by an electronic pass on our way towards the waiting area, once we reach the destination, the ticket will once again will be fed to the electronic pass however at this point, and it will stay in the machine since it was just a one way ticket.

Super peaceful and almost everyone's texting!

Cebu doesn't have this system yet, well I guess Cebu isn't that populated compared to Manila and so we don’t have the reason to have one. However if at some point we can afford to have one, then it will be a great vehicle for a faster and cheaper means of transportation, less traffic!