A Mother’s Plea for Safe and Reliable Public Transportation

By Shen Cala-or
What is safe, reliable?

LTFRB Central Office, mothers all over the metro request that you listen to what we have to say. We respect your authority but our laws need changing because our technology is improving. Utilize this change instead of going backwards. Work with us instead. Isn’t this a sign that our country is progressing?

Never before have we felt safe and secure in our commutes. We get to comfortably work on laptops during traffic in EDSA, we get to sleep on our way home so we can recharge and be decent mothers to our children at night. Best of all, we get to pick up our kids even if we are not there. Uber and Grab provided us better and safer options that you failed to maintain in your franchised taxis, buses, and jeepneys. We don’t have to crush our way inside molding and broken trains, and spend hours in long queues of UV Express garages (What are you doing about these vehicles that are not regulated under your authority?). Admit it, you failed in your duties to make our commute faster and safer with all the laws and power at your disposal. That is why Uber and Grab are now the majority choice for a lot of FIlipinos. You became complacent and thought that we should just get by with what we have. Some of us who earn a decent amount of living, who sacrifice the extra few hundred pesos we earn for convenience and SAFETY deserve a better option than what you can regulate. Listen to the people who actually serve. Why did we come to this? What promoted Uber and Grab to be a successful transport service? Look at the bigger picture.

As decent human beings, we refuse to commute and feel like we are just trying to survive. We refuse to go back to your low standards of public transportation. Open your minds, reorganize your office, and open your arms to better choices.

Shen Cala-or is a mom of one. She is the publisher of the blog, Shen’s Addiction. This post initially appeared in her Facebook account.